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FACTS 



FOR 



THE LABORING MAN: 



BY A LABORING MAN. 



[COPY-RIGHT SECURED.] 






^ NEWPORT, R. 1. 
JAMES ATKINSON, PRINTER 

1840. 



' y\'<" FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN : 

BY A LABORING MAN. 



The following series of FACTS originally appeared in the columns of 
the Herald of the Tiities, Newport, R. I., and are recommended to the 
serious consideration of every man in the Nation into whose hands they 
may fall. Annexed will be found a ^ew of the many testimonials which 
have been given in favor of the articles. 

[From the Providence Journal, of M.ij- 2d.] 

"The concluding number of this admirable series of political articles, was published in 
tlie Newport Herald of the Times, of Thursday. The whole imbodies perhaps the best 
exposition of the end and aim of the real design and inevitable effect of the doctrines of 
the Administration that has ever appeared. We very much desire to see this series pub- 
lished in a form cheap enough for general circulation. A hundred thousand copies might 
be distributed with immense effect. The people will read them because they are FACTS, 
and tJie facts provep, the conclusions follow immediately of course. WHIG COM- 
MITTEES and TIPPECANOE CLUBS would not expend the necessary sum to better 
political advantage." 

[From the New York Courier and Enquirer, of April 25th.] 

"The admirable numbers of Narragansett should be put in a cheap pamphlet form 
for universal circulation. We do not wonder that in the light of such FACTS, the 
electors of Rhode Island gave such a large majority against the Administration." 

[From the Same, of Rlay 9th.] 
"Facts for thk Peoplk. — We have already alluded to a series of able papers 
issued under this title in the Newport Herald of the Times. The concluding number of 
the scries appeared in that paper of Thursday last. We fully agree witli the Providence 
Journal, in the opinion that these papers imbody THE BEST EXPOSITION of the 
financial policy of tlic present Federal Administration that has yet appeared." 



Newport, R. I., May 23, 1840. 

We, the underwritten, have read the articles signed Narragansett, which ajipeared in 
the Herald of the Times previous to our late (Rhode Island) election, and earnestly recom- 
mend their republication to the patronage of AlA. THE WHIGS OF OUR COUNTRY. 
The information which these articles give — the exposures which they make, as to the 
causes which have hrouglit the country to its present disastrous slate, and to its still more 
disastrous prospects, by the maladministration of the General Government, under General 
Jackson and Mr. Van Buren — have liad a. powerful effect upon the popular mind here ; and 
have contributed much to the great success of our late election, and we have no doubt 
they will have the same effect upon the People, luherevcr they may be read. For no candid, 
reflecting mind, we think, can fail to see, after reading tiiis exposure, that the fabric of 
our National prosperity, such as it existed when Jackson came into power, lias been entirely 
destroyed by him and Van Buren ; and Uiat tliere can be no hope of returning prosperity 
till that fabric is restored. 

John II. Ci.arkf,, ^ 

Thomas J. Stead, I Representatives to the General Assembly 

John Whipple, j from Providence. 

Charles Jackson, J 

James F. Simmons, Representative from Johyiston. 

( liite Sointor " 
ASHER ROBBINS, < '" Consrosa 

I from R. I. , ^ 

B. Hazard, Represcntaiives to the General 

He.nry Y. Cranston, )■ ./hscmbly of Rhode Island, 

Richard K. Randolph, from JVcwport. 

George G. King, 

George Bowen, 

Nath'l S. Ruggles, Member of the Senate of Rhode Island. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlic year 1840, l>y James Atkinson, in the Clerk's Office 
of the District Court of the District of Rliode Island. 



FACTS 



LABORING MAN 



[From tha Newport, R. I., Herald of the Tinieg, February 13, 1840.] 

No. 1. 

" Ncbcr 1x1 ?ooil time in dis country, Massa, till corn be pi^sarcen a bushel, and pork pissateen a pound;" as Cudjo 
gaid, who bought his corn and sold his pig.'' 

Extract from a dialogue between Sambo and his master. 
" Nig5er don't build cliimbly in Guinf.a, Massa, as white man do." 
«' How do they build thoic, Sambn.' " 
" 'Gin him at top, Massa, and m:ikc him striiiglit down to de ground."* 

Extract from the same. 

" Wish, Mnssa, every body dead cep Massa and Sanilio." 

" VVIiy so, Sambo .' " 

" Cos, don Mossa and I set up shop, and sell gooib like de berry debil."* 

Extract from Mr. Va7i Baren's Message, 1839. 
" Our people will not Ion? be insensible to tlie extent of the burdens entailed upon thorn l>y the fal<ie siMtem that 
Ims bi'on oparating on their sanguine, enersrelic, and indnatrious charncter, nor tn tlic nienns necessnry to extricate 
VifiiUifti'en from tkc^-e embai-rassments. Tlie wei;^ht which presses upon a large portion of the people and the slates, 
is an enormous debt, foreign and domestic. The fop'ign debt of onr states, corporations, iind men of business, can 
Bcarcely bo less tlian two hundred millions of dollars, requhinj; more tli;in ten millions of dollars a year to pay the in- 
terest. This sum has to be paid out of the exports of the country, and must, of necessity, cut off imports to that 
extent, or plunge the country more deeply in delJt from year to yenr. It is easy to see that the increase of this for- 
Rign debt mvist augment the annual demand on the exports to pay the inti rest, and to the same extent diminish the im- 
ports ; and in proportion to the enlargement of llio foreign debt, and the consequent ineroasu of interest, must be tho 
decrease of the import trade. In lieu of the cowfurls which it now brings us, we might have our gigantic banking 
institutions, and .-•plnidid, but, in many inslar.r,-.;, jirnjitle.j:', raHrnails and cnnul.-; absorbing to a great extent, in inter- 
est upon tho capital borrowed to construct them, the surplus fruits of national industry for years to come, and so- 
curing to posterity no adequate return for the cmnfurts which the labors of their hands might otherwise havo 
secured." 

One half of tlie sum stated by Mr. Van Buren to be due to foreign nations, will probably be 
nearer the truth ; but admit the whole to be true, and it appears the people of the United States 
owe to foreign countries the sum of Two Hundred Millions of Dollars, and tliat they are, as 
stated, thereby debarred from foreign "comforts" to the amount of Ten Millions of Dollars 

* The w.-iior is well awnro that the subjects now treated upon are too serious, in tho present state of the country, to 
be mado lisht of ; and he would not, theriifore, introiluce any matter calculated to produce such a tendency. The 
mottoes affixed were the actual sayings of aged negroes, who formerly lived in the south part of the State of Rhode 
Island, and were originally brought from the coast of Guinea, where they, no doubt, imbibed their idcits of political 
economy. Sambo was well known to the writer. He was rather above the ordinary height, and his habit rather full. 
He was a negro of nnconmiou capacity, and remarkable for original conceptions, and was considered an oracle by 
his (Vllow-servants in his master's Ketchev. Oudjo wa^ not personally known to the writer, but he has been rep- 
resented us being rather below the ordinary stature, ami of proportionable size; a good deal bald, and his hair in- 
clining to sray ; was of a demure countenance, and quiet maimers; seldom spoke, and always with caution; for 
a negro, was remarkably fond of money. His mister allowed him the privilege yearly of fatting a pig ; tho corn was 
bouglit with his own money, earned at odd times. 

The sayinjs of these aged negroes were affixed as molloes to this co-mnunication, for tho reason, that the wriler'e 
limited readings of Shakspnare, and other pithy authors, did not enable him to apply any thing so expressive or 
apropos to tlie policy and moa-iir'S of the pre-sent administration and its friends. If the same ideas were clothed in 
good English, the writer thinks fi>w readers will f ,il to perceive a great similarity between tho principles they incul- 
cat",an(l the leading doctrines of :^'r. Van Buren and his supporters. 

Tlio hiSoring man is told that bis labor will conlinne high, while the articles ho consumes will be bought low. 
Does not the price Cn Ijo fixed as the fiir value of the corn, as compared with pork, vvliicb he was obliged to pur- 
chase in order to fit bis pig, and which he again sol I in llio shape <d' pork, apply to this principle .•' In other worda, 
corn is to bo a pislareen a bu-hel, and the price of lalior to raise it a pUtareen an hour. Vi\cla and experience 



4 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

annually, to meet the interest. This sum, dividing it equally among the whole population of the 
United States, is about sixty cents yearly to each individual, which they have been in the habit 
of receiving in silks, ribbons, toys, and other Foreign "comforts." 

The writer will now solicit attention to the subject of Domestic "comforts," in furnishing 
which this debt has greatly contributed, and ask whether they will form an adequate counter^ 
balance to the '• burdens entailed upon the people by a false system," which seems now about to 
expire, and entail a debt of sixty cents on each person yearly. Well, indeed, may Mr. Van 
Buren call them an " energetic " people, who, under all the evils of this "false system," (al- 
though in its infancy only twenty years since,) have accomplished more in that time, than has 
been done by an)? other people on earth in centuries. Withm that period, this " energetic " 
people have reclaimed from the wilderness, eight or ten States and Territories, each of "which 
would constitute an empire in the old world, and peopled them with a hardy, intelligent race of 
men, the surplus products of whose industry and skill, to the amount of millions, are already 
crowding every canal, river, or railroad, that conducts to a market. They have built cities, 
towns, and villages, without number; in that short time, have built more steamboats, made more 
railroads, more canals, than all the world beside ; have become the second maritime people, the 
third manufacturing, and export far more agricultural products than any other nation. In that 
time, their exports have increased some Fifty Millions of Dollars, and more than doubled ; their 
manufactures, from a trifling amount, have swelled to nearly Three Hundred Millions of Dollars. 
All tliis, and far more, has been accomplished by this "energetic people," while laborimr under 
"burdens imposed by a false system," which, until now, they were too busy to think about, 
or to "extricate themselves from," although their best friends, Martin Van Buren, and Thomas 
H. Benton, have, for years, been calling on them to rise in their strength and annihilate it, 
together with its eight hundred rag banks, thiit have been preying on their vitals the whole time. 

If so much has been done by this "energetic " people, under the " burdens imposed by a false 
system," v'liat will they not accomplish, when they find the means " necessary to extricate them- 
selves from its embarrassments," when all the evils shall be done away, and nothing left to press 
upon them .' We shall then enjoy all the good, without the alloy of bad. and our prosperity must 
go on, increasing, in the language of Messrs. Van Buren and Benton on a former occasion, 
"not in the arithmetical ratio, but in geometrical progression, and increase almost beyond the 
power of the mind to calculate or comprehend." The next twenty years will probably perfect 
every thing in North America Utat the skill and industry of man can accomplish. The world 
will be exhausted of its specie in purchasing the rich products of our labor, and a majority of 
the people will become idle from sheer necessity, there being nothing left to do. 

But befi're the glowing blessings of the specie system, about to be introduced, have begun to 
produce this rich harvest of prosperity, and thereby blinded your eyes to the few redeeming 
traits of our hitherto "false system" of tariff, credit, railroads, canals, "banks and rags," let me 
call your attention to a few facts, expressed not in idle words, but in figures, — Yanl.te figures^ 
— that when the time arrives that you have performed all, and have nothing more to do, you 
may then occasionally refer to thein for amusement; and, as you idly gaze on the "gold glit- 
tering through the meshes of your long, silken purses," draw such comparisons between the 
present and the past, as your playful fancies may suggest. Perhaps you may then discover that 
Henrv Ci.av, and the host of bustling, active, business-working men, who acted in concert to 
plan and perfect this " false system " of credit and home labor protection, had " occusionul glim-- 
merings of common sense," worthy of some consideration, although not to be comi)ared with 
the dazzling brightness of such intellects, as those possessed by the distinguished and virtu- 
ous men who now sway tlie destinies of the nation, and who are about to fill your purses with 
gold, and the iron chests of your treasuries with silver; over which they will probably place one 
of the ever-watchful genii of olden time, charmed by the spell of the Mogicimi's wand, — from 
the deep dungeon of some enchanted castle, — and who will menace with "galley," "imprison- 
ment," and "death," any "bank monster," or "rag baron," who shall seek to molest his mas- 
ter's treasure, or defile his temple of mammon with their filthy paper, whether issued by banks, 
sub-treasurers, republics, potentates, or kings. 

The calculations the writer submits to your perusal, are mostly based on recollection, and, 
in some instanei-s, may vary slightly from the truth ; not from any intention, however, but from 
the imperfection of memory ; and all the indulgence asked is, that the reader should bring his 
own knowledge to bear on the same subjects, and let reason decide as to their g.->neral cor- 
rectness, and the writer begs at the same time, that where they are not familiar with the facts 
as regards the local examples presented, they will apply the same rules to those cases of the same 
nature with which they are better acquainted, and not l>e discouraged from seeking the truth, by 
the astonishing, and seemingly impossible results they disclose. If they apparently encroach on 
the re<ri()n of romance, so, also, does the rise and unexampled prosperity of our country, which 
experience, that surest of guides, will inform us has ever gone hand in hand with the " false 

provp, that in all civilb.pd ountrinu, whore fool is cho.-inP8f, there is the most sufToriiig for the want of it. [This 
Beeiiiin'; paniilox iidmils of it naily sohilion, which m ly he hi'Vi-iifti-r soup into.) 

Again, hiivn not our present ml ts !)'gm at the lop of the chimni^y, as "in Guinea, ami are they not building 
Dow>W(BDs, in Ihi'ir meadures lo proirole III" prosperity o( the coiinlry.' 

And Is not the constant hnrpi'i-; ii'xmt one class of citizens hcinj; taxed for the Piipport of nnothor, aptly illustrated 
by the negro i^ainl)0, who wi^'hcd every body dead bnl his niistor iw\ himself, Hint thev might engross all business to 
thoniselvi's.' not p-roeivin;, thai if ;ill others wi-re d.ad, (in olhrr \iords uniiblc 10 do hiisinesR,) there would bo 
notliin; I It to do; it ri'ipiiring hu-liii-ss lo in ke husincss — the business of one class nocvesurily inuking business 
for another — and so round and round thi; circle. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 5 

system" (of Mr. Van Buren,) and has advanced and retrograded, precisely as it has been the 
policy of the people to protect or destroy it. 

As tliese lacts may not be familiar to all, before I proceed to illustrate their truth by exam- 
ples in figures, I will first call llie attention (more particularly of liie laboring man) to a hasty 
sketch of°the prominent eras in the financial history of our country, commencmg with the close 
of the revolutionary war; at which period, the resources of the country were completely ex- 
hausted by the unparalleled efforts of our devoted forefatliers, in the war of liberty, to defray a 
part of the expenses of wliicli tliey were obliged to issue bills of credit to the amount of more 
than I()0,()00,l)UO of df.llars. and which, owing to the poverty of the country, the national gov- 
ernment were unable to redeem. These bills, known by the name of Continental money, were 
used as a circulating medium, and became almost the only currency; b(^ing made a legal tender 
in payment of debts by act of Congress. They gradually depreciated in the hands of the 
public, and eventually lost their entire value. By constantly passing from hand to hand, and, at 
each transfer, depreciating slightly in value, it probably bore as lightly on the people as any 
other species of tax would iiave done, althougii its precedent should be avoided, and can only 
be defended on the principle of extreme necessity, and the extraordinary occasion that produced it. 
It was a part, and a small part, of the [)rice of our independence. 

Un tile Hd()|)tion of the constitution by the thirteen original states, the country was left with- 
out a leii-al currency except silver and gold, and that not sufficient in quantity to supply a tithe of 
what was necessary to make the necessary exchanges of the products of industry. From sheer 
necessity, a system of barter was adopted — diflerent articles assumed the character of a currency 
— and the most prominent staple products of some sections of the country, even acquired the 
name of money ; and property was sold with a stipulation that the payment should be made in 
"cash," (the term applied to corn or some other staple,) with as nmch gravity as if it really 
meant gold or silver, the only constitutional currenc3^ Such was the scarcity of money, that 
even respectable tiioi)keepers were in tlie constant habit of paying for their daily family wants 
in goods, and went to market duly prepared with change, in the shape of small parcels of tobac- 
co, snuff", sugar, rice, itc., answering in value to the denominations of coin, even down to the 
smallest fractions. Although the general or Federal government never acknowledged this 
species of currency, such was the urgent need, that the State Governments (prohibited by the 
constitution from issuing bills of credit) were obliged in many instances to submit to public ne- 
cessity, and receive their taxes in " kind," as it was called — in other words, the products of 
Industry — and instead of s|)ecie, (which some of our MODERN RULERS seem to think 
scarcely an equivalent for their services,) the scrrrints of tlie people at that time were content 
to receive their compensation in the shape of a bag of meal, a few deer skins, with muskrat or 
mink skins by way of change, or some other " domestic comf(:)rts " of the same nature. 

This oppressive state of things remained until after the commencement of the French revolu- 
tion in ITLIO, which soon involved all Europe in one general war. Hitherto the ports cf the Uni- 
ted States had been open to the products botii of Agriculture and Manufactures of all the na- 
tions of Europe, — who received scarce any of our own in return, and those loaded with heavy 
imposts. The whole revenue of the United States from all sources was less than four millions 
of dollars annually. Our neutralit}' soon gave us the carrying trade of the civilized world, — and 
the drain from the productive classes necessary to keep on foot the immense armies of the despots 
of Europe, opened an endless market fijr the products of our soil. A sufficient paper currency, 
based on a proper foundation, to sup]>ly tho. place of actual capital, was all tli(> country now 
needed to unite and call into action tlie industry and enterprise of the people, and enable 
them to reap the advantages before them. Tiie following year, 1701, Conoress chartered the 
Bank of the United States, with a capital of Ten Millions of Dollar.s, to continue twenty years. 
A circulating medium, sufficient for the wants of the then limited population and territory, was 
8up])lied — (jnickly followed by the busy hum of industry throughout the land. The products 
of every branch of agriculture found a ready market abroad, and superseded the necessity of a 
Tariff for the protection of industry at home. Not only were the exports of the country suffi- 
cient to pay fi)r the imports of manufactures and other " foreign comforts," necessary to supply 
the wants of the people — but such was the balance of trade in our favor, that during the con- 
tinuance of the non-intercourse act, which preceded the last war with Great Britain, exchange 
had fallen to 15 or 20 per cent, below par. As the business, the population, and extent of the 
country increased, state Banks had been from time to time established to meet the wants of the 
country. 

At the expiration of the charter of the United States Bank, in 1811, Congress declined re- 
newing it, and it proceeded to wind up its concerns. Exchange on England being so far 
below par, consequently inducing the importation of specie, was extremely favorable for the 
operation. The destruction of all commerce by the action of war, which was declared against 
Great Britain by the United States in 1HI2, and the want of manufactories to supply our mili- 
tary and naval establishments with clothing and other necessaries, caused the coin to be smug- 
gled to Canada and other depots of British manufactures, and our people were literally clothed 
by their enemies, and at a profit that went far towards reinii)ursing them the expenses of the 
war. Our Banks were quickly drained of their specie, and obliged to suspcmd — in which they 
were countenanced by both the people and the general government. The country in a state of 
active hostilities, and left destitute of coin, called for excessive issues of Hank paper, which was 
Still further stimulated by the demands of government; nearly their whole dependence for the 



G FACTS FOR THE LABORIxNG MAN: 

immediate payment of the expenses of the war, now resting on Bank issues, in the absence of 
which an equivalent to the old Continental currency, would have been unavoidable. 

Peace at length came, and found the country loaded with a debt of 123,000,000 of dollars. 
The wars of Europe had ceased, and eacli nation had resumed its peaceful occupations, and 
instead of requiring our produce to consume, or our shipping to transport their own, they had 
both to spare. Our resources from commerce were thus cut off, and the most pressing wants of 
the country could only be supplied by a circuitous trade, for the purpose of exchanging a few 
of our staples for the products of distant climes, which when brought home must be again 
reshipped to Europe, to exchange for articles of necessity — thus paying the expense of two 
exchanges to accomplish one. TJiere being no protective duties to shield our manufactories 
in their infancy, the British capitalists were enabled to keep a constant supply of manufactured 
goods in our markets, to the full extent that would sell, which, after absorbing in remittances what 
lew articles were wanted from the United States, operated as a constant drain on our specie, not 
a dollar of wliich was ever returned. Exchange rose from 20 to 25 per cent, above par. The 
old system of barter was again being resorted to, and it became an established custom in many 
parts of the countrj', to demand cash at the shops for all European articles, at the same time that 
exchanges were made for country produce, payable in "American goods." P'oreign "comforts " 
became unknown to the laboring man except l)y hearsay, and were knov/n to him in some 
neighborhoods only by the significant term of " boughten goods," meaning they must be paid 
for in money, a commodity beyond his reach, and only in the hands of his wealthier neighbors. 
Labor v.'as paid almost entirely in '• kind " — in other words, with its own products. 

Again, for the second time, such were the sufferings of the country, that Congress, urged by 
necessity, adopted almost simultaneously those two great measures of relief, a Tariff for the pro- 
tection of our domestic industry, and a National Bank for the protection of our domestic cur- 
rency, (or in other words amounting to the same thing, for the regulation of commerce,) render- 
ing both independent of foreign power, — two measures, under the operation of which, for 
twenty years, no industrious citizen, blessed with health, could justly call himself poor, — two 
measures which were rapidly elevating, and if persevered in, and properly guarded and regulated 
by wise legislation, would raise this country to a pinnacle of greatness, beyond what was ever 
yet conceived of in the pages of romance — not that false greatness which centres in the person 
of a despot, at the sacrifice of millions of his fellow-beings, but that true greatness which 
promotes the good of all, and like the gentle dews of Heaven distils its quiet blessings alike on 
rich and poor. — At this time, there was less than fifteen millions of coin in the United States, 
without means to increase it. The Bank issues amounted to over One Hundred Millions of 
Dollars, and the experiment was now to be tried, whether under these circumstances specie 
payments could be resumed. The United States Bank commenced operations in 1817. A 
simultaneous effort was made by all the Banks to resume, aided by about three millions of specie 
furnished by the National institution, which in turn was aided by the public funds, and en- 
couraged and countenanced by the representatives and government of the people. The effort 
eventually proved successful, although for several 3'cars the event seemed doubtful. Through 
a temporary mismanagement of the National Bank in its infancy, much injury was occasioned. In 
some sections of the country, paiticularly the West, nearly every state institution was prostrated. 
The sufferings of individuals were great, and in many districts there was almost an entire 
change in the holders of propert}'. After five or six years, things assumed a healthy aspect. 
The notes of the United States Bank being received in payment of Government dues, gave 
them a uniform value over the whole Union — while the notes of the State Banks, being received 
in deposit not only at the mother Bank, but also at each of its twenty-five branches, and 
frequent settlements being required, and the balances paid in coin, operated as an effectual check 
to over issues. Those branches reaching over every part of the country, and being more par- 
ticularly located at the great connnercial points, where the foreign exchanges concentrated, 
which tliey were allowed by their charter to deal in, (it being the interest as well as the duty 
of the Bank to furnish a uniform currency,) put it in their power effectually to check the sjiirit 
of speculation or overtrading at the outset, and thereby prevent excessive imports of foreign 
goods over our exports, thus creating a balance to be remitted in specie, sure to fall with greatest 
weight on themselves. Was the currency deficient at one point, to supply the necessary wants 
of a healthy trade, orders were given from the mother Bank to the branch in that quarter, to 
extend to a certain extent its discounts, sure to be followed to a like extent by the adjacent 
slate institutions. By the tiuic the expansion had supplied the wants of the connnunity in that 
quarter, indications would jjerhaps ap[)ear in an oi)posiie direction of too nnich expansion, and a 
disposition to overtrade begin to manii(:'st itself. Orders would be issued to contract the 
circulation by withholding discounts to a certain extent, necessarily followed by the state institu- 
tions, and tlius the lever being elevated at one end and at the same time pressed downward at 
the opposite, an equilibrium was soon obtained. So exact was the working of this system, that 
exchanges from the extreme points of the Union seldom varied more than one half per cent. 

To show the facilities the United States Bank possessed to enable them to detect an excess of 
paper issues, in any particular section, it will be enough to state that the payment and disburse- 
ments at the mother Bank and branches on account of govertnueiit and individuals, did not prob- 
ably amount annually to less than twice the sum of the wIkjIo currency of every description in 
the States — and as tlie notes of all the solvent state institutions were received in deposit, and 
of course in payment of debts at her counter, a speedy detection and consequent check of any 



BY A LABORING MAN. 7 

undue issues of particular institutions, were sure to follow. Owing to the shipment abroad, 
and transfers at home, of many of our staple crops, occurring at particular seasons of the year, 
it was necessary there siiould be corresponding facilities aflorded by the Banks while the process 
of exchange of products was going on, which frequently caused sudden e.xpansions of the curien- 
cy — svu-e to be followed by corresponding contractions — in time to check excessive imports, 
and to induce a partial return of the price of our exports in specie — to strengthen the basis of 
our currency, which required constant addition as the labor of the people rose in value, as our 
productive territory extended, and the products of the soil, the mine, and manufactory, in- 
creased. — But these periodical revulsions wore so tempered by the timely forcwarninga 
of their approach, through the contractions of the currency, as to be scarcely felt by the com- 
munity, and were as necessary to the sound health of commerce and trade, as tlie periodical How 
of the seasons are to the full development of the products of the soil. 

Such was the unparalleled prosperity produced by this system, acting in concert with the pro- 
tection of our industry, which had been increased in 1S24, and again in 1S'J8, (a prosperity not 
confined to one section, but extending alike over all,) that during the administration of John Q. 
Adams, from 1825 to 182'J, a period of four years, the exports of our domestic produce had so 
increased that the revenue derived from imports and other sources, not only deirayed the ex- 
penses of the national government, amounting to over l'2,IM)0,0fl0 dollars annually, but the suni 
of $45,303,643 had been applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the National 
debt. And during the succeeding term of Andrew Jackson, comprising eight years, and ex- 
pirinn-the fourth of March, 1837, (one year only after the expiration of the charter of the Bank,) 
the expenses of tlic National Government, now swollen by the administration of the friends 
of " reform " to about $40,000,000 annually, had not only been paid, but the balance of the na- 
tional debt, amounting to 5rt,:!G'2,l35 dollars, had been extinguished, and a further sum accumu- 
lated in the treasury of 41,000,000 of dollars; 24 millions of which had however accrued from 
the unprecedented sale of public lands, induced by orders issued fVom the Treasury department 
encouraging the western depo.sit banks to extend their discounts based on the public money. 
Martin Van Buren's administration commenced on the fourth of March, 1837. His predecessor's 
annual message, the ])reviuus December, three months only before, announced to a confiding 
people the following gratifying intelligence, and in these words — 

" Experience continues to realiro tlio expectations entertained, as to the capacity of tlie State Banks to perform 
tlie duties of fisciil agents fur the government. — At the tiniu of llie removal of tlie deposits, it was alleged l)y the ad- 
vocate:) of the Bank of tlio United States, that llie State Banks, whatever mi^lit be Ike reirulatiun.i of the Treasuiij de- 
partment, could not make tlie transfer required by the government, or ne^otiat-: the doineilir cxchaugr.s of the cuuiUry. 
it is now wM a.iccrtaiiicd, tli it the real domestic exchanges, through discounts hy the United States Bank and its 25 
Branches, were at least o?ic (/aVd less than those of lliu Deposit lianks for nn equal period of time — and if n com- 
parison bi! instituted between the amounts of service rtiidered by those institutions, on the bioader ba-is which 
has been used by the advoc:ites of the United Stites Bink, in estimating what they consider the domestic e.xchangeg 
transacted by it, the result will be still mure favurable to the Deposit Banks." 

Again the message says — 

" In the same manner have nearly all the predictions turned out in respect to the effect of tlic removal of the depos- 
its — a stop unquestionably necessary to prevent Iho evils which it was foreseen the JJaidl ilself would eudoavor to 
create, in a Bnal struggle to procure a renewal of its charter." 

On the 4th day of March, 1837, one year precisely af^er the expiration of the charter of the 
National Bank, and ninety short days only (winter days) after the flourishing announcement of 
the falsehood of the predictions of its advocates — as contained in the above extracts of Gene- 
ral Jackson's message — Martin Van Buren assumed the Presidential chair. He came into 
ofHce under a pledge to support the national policj' and doctrines of his predecessor — to trend in 
his fuotstfips. Ninety days more had scarcely elapsed before Congress was especially convened 
by a Proclamation of the President, informing them of the total failure of the Deposit Banks 
in the perfirmance of their duties as fiscnl agents [Treasury or revenue agents] to government, 
and requesting Congress to devise waj's and means to meet the national expenditines, which 
finally ended in the emission of nineteen millions of Treasury notes. Tiie state of the national 
finances since, and the deplorable state of the country', is well known to all. And now again, 
for the tliinl time, we have come to an era in the financial history of our country. Again we are 
without a National Bank ; an institution as necessary to regulate the Bank issues and exchanges, 
and tlii'reby the commerce of the country, as that a federal government should have a general 
(though limited) superintendence over the afl'airs of the separate and independent States. As 
well may we, as a commercial people, dispense with the one as with the other. 

As it must be tiresome to the reader to dwell so long on one suliject, the writer will, for the 
present, defer following it fiu-thcr, and proceed to the illustration of the advantages and disad- 
vantages of Mr. V.m Buren's '• False sj'stem," as compared with the periods when Banks, Rail- 
roads, &c. &c., were in their infancy. 

Railroads and Steamboats having grown in a great measure out of the " False system," tlie 
writer will compare the cost of travel now with what it was before their introduction. In these 
calculations he will call the value of a man's time one dollar per day, which is about the average 
of the labor of the country, though officers of the general government, including mem!)ers of 
Congress, earn much more, say eiffht or ten dollars per day, and consequently this additional item 
should be considered as respects their travelling. 



3 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Former cost of a journey from Boston to Baltimore, and return. 

By stage to Providence, one day, ^ 00 

Dinner un road, 50 

Supper anil loilgin^ in Providence, 1 00 

Stage to New York, three days, 18 00 

Two nights' lodging on the road, at 95 cents, 50 

Eight meals victuals on the road, at 50 cents, 4 00 

Supper and lodging in New York, 1 00 

Stage to Philadolphia, (one hard day's work,) 9 00 

Breakfast and dinner on the road, 1 00 

Supper and lodging in Philadelphia, 1 00 

Stage to Baltimore, two days, 10 00 

Slay one day, and return —nine days in all — time, $1 per day, 9 00 

58 00 
Keturn to Boston, same, ■ 58 00 * 

$116 00 

About eighteen days — boots worn out from walking in the mud — a heavy cold from expo- 
sure — incapable of business tor some days. 

Cost of journey from Boston to Baltimore, and return, under the " False system." 

Leaves Boston, 4 o'clock, P. M.,by Railroad cars to Providence, 3 hrs $2 00 

By Railroad to Stonington, thence Steamboat, or Steamboat from Providence direct,. 5 00 

Tea on board of Steamboat, 50 

Arrives in New York at 7 or 8 next morning, has whole day to attend to business — 

board and lodging, 2 00 

Leaves in Steamboat next morning for Philadelphia, via Aniboy, thence Railroad,... 3 00 

Thence to Baltimore, in the evening, by Railroad, 4 00 

Breakfast and dinner on the road, 1 00 

Two days' time, 2 00 

19 50 
Return, same, 19 50 

$39 00 

Returns fresh and hearty. — Absent less than four days. — Spending one day in Baltimore and 
one in New York. 

Showing a saving of" Domestic comforts," in favor of the "False system," of seventy-seven 
dollars each trip of an individual — his tax for " si.\ty cents" payable in " Foreign comforts" 
being at the same time included in the price of his passage — the Railroad and Steamboat lines 
themselves bearing all the deprivations of " Foreign comforts " necessary to meet the interest 
due by them to foreigners. — On this line of travel alone on an average for 312 days in the year, 
allowing those wlio slop at the various points on the route to count only in proportion to the 
distance tlicy travel, are probably equal to not less than 1 -50 passengers daily, (in the winter less, 
but many more at other seasons,) which is a clear saving in iavor of the " False system " of 
11,550 dollars per day, or 3,GO;5,tiO0 dollars annually. If we take into consideration the former 
unavoidable delays and losses, and incidental e.xpenses, occurring from various causes, which 
those who formerly travelled on this route will readily comprehend, it will, I think, be conceded 
that the savings and additions of " Domestic comfort," on this road alone, will pay the annual 
interest to the amount of at least one half of the " Foreign comforts " we are deprived of, 
amounting to sixty cents for each individual annually — or about one silk glove each for a grown 
person — a humming top for a lad — a figured fan direct from Paris for a miss, just in her teens 
— and a doll direct from Nurembnrg for a child — or (b}' a little inevitable inecpiality in distribu- 
tion,) perhaps a copy of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations for Mr. Benton — Munchausen's Tales 
for Mr. Van Buren — Don Quixote de La Mancha (by Cid \ln.mct Barn and Jell ij) for General 
Jackson — and a Chinese puzzle for Mr. Woodbury. Let this calculation be affixed to all the 
improvements of travel and transportation in the Union, introduced by the " False system," even 
including all '^ the splendid but in vui.n[i instances prqtitless Railroads and Canals,'' which Mr. 
Van Buren speaks of, and it will probably be found, (although their proprietors may not xea\i great 
prof Is,) that after tlie interest of the foreign debt, amounting to ,f 1(1,(100,000 annually, lias been 
paid, there will still be a balance of one htmdred millions of dollars or more, of" Domestic com- 
forts " yearly in the people's favor — iii which they all share directly or indirectly — as the de- 
crease in the cost of travel and transportation necessarily decreases the charges on business, and 
consequently cheapens the articles of general consumption in the same ratio. This is a principle 
which experience lias long settled, qttite as satisfactorily as the one Mr. Van Buren thinks so well 
established, as announced to the world in his last message in the following words : 

" It is moreover an esliiblished principle — that the supply of the precious metals will always be found adequate to 
the uses for which they are reiinircd." 

Now there is this objection to this cherished dogma of Mr. Van Bnren's, that though true, it 
admits of two solutions. — if tlie " precious metals " should not happen to come to the wants of 
the people, the wants of the people must be diminished to the quantity of the " precious nietals." 
Like the iron bed of Procrustes, if the bed does not tit the man, the man must be made to fit 
the bed. 

To illustrate the effect produced by the " False system " on a smaller scale, as regards rail- 
roads, and which will apply more generally to the laboring classes — the writer will suppose a 
person, living in the neighborhood of Stonington, formerly had occasion to go to Providence, 



BY A LABORING MAN. 9 

distance about 50 miles — the same calculation (with variation of circumstance) will apply 
equally well to other locations. 

Mode before the "Fal.se system" was introduced — no stages then running between those 
places — uses his own horse and waffoti. 

l^eavcs Stonington early in the morning, roads bad ; arrives in Providence next day ; stays 
there one night ; leaves next day, and reaches home the 4th day at night. 

4 ilnys' lioird nt ono doll ir per (lay, $4 00 

3 nights' lod^'iii;; iit 'JS conU, ?.'> 

Keeping ofliorsc '.i iii^hta al 5U cents, 1 50 

Oruiii for horse '.i d iy9, ."SO 

Wo.ir and u<e of unKOri and horse, 2 00 

4cliiy8' time lu^l, ut one dollar per duy, 4 00 

$ 1-3 75 

If a poor man, he must hire a horse, or go on foot. 

liij Railroad, or " False Sijstem." 
Leaves Stonington in Cars at seven o'clock in the morning, arrives al 10 o'clock, stays all the 
business hours of the day, and returns at (i o'clock, arrives home by nine in the evening. 

Price of passagi-, going nnrl returning, $5 00 

Dinner in Providence, .'iO 

One day's work, 1 09 

$fi 50 

Leaving $6 25 of" Domestic comfort " to meet the charge of GO cents for the " Foreign com 
forts," debarred from yearly by the "burdens imposed by a false system." 

NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, R. I., Herold of the Times, February 20, 1840.] 

No. 2. 

Referring to former remarks, the writer will now slightly rehearse the causes which have 
tended to aggravate this lliird era in our tinancial liistory, and make it more disastrous, if pos- 
sible, ihan either of the preceding. When the ('barter of the late United Stales Bank was grant- 
ed by Congress, in leiKi, il was agreed, (as before staled.) that they should be allowed the use 
of the public money, (lying idle in their vaults,) as a basis for discounts, upon the Bank's agree- 
ing to make the public disbursements at points when and where they were needed, without 
charge to government — and upon the farther payment of 1 ,.''>()0,0()0 dollars into the national 
treasury, as a bonus for its privileges — all of which stipulati')ns were performed to the letter on 
the part of the Bank — and have never been denied by friends or foes. During the whole tinie 
the public money remained in its care, not one dollar was lost — neither were the people sub- 
jected to one dollar ofe.vpense for its disbursement. — But on the contrary, besides the bonus the 
|>eople's government received as before staled, the business of the country was greatly benefited 
by the whole amount of the surplus revenue being diffused, by the bank and its branches, 
throughout the Union, by discounts, and thus answering the same purpose as so much extra 
Capital. 

In September, 1833, General Jackson ordered the public deposits to be discontinued in the 
United Stales Bank, and after the Isl of October to be placed in state institutions. — Congress 
had decided in the immediate preceding session against their removal, by a vote of 10!) against 
to 4G in favor. The then Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Duane, was displaced — he refusing to 
act contrary to the expressed will of Congress — and Mr. Taney was appointed in his j)lace, to 
fill the department, for the only purpose of removing the deposits, as it would seem from his 
quick succeeding appointment by General Jackson for life, to a seat in the Supreme Court of the 
United States. In the following Congress, the House of Representatives, by a large majority, 
decided the removal of the deposits to be injudicious and uncalled for, and by a majority in the 
Senate it was denounced as an act of usurpation on the part of the President. Upon this arbitra- 
ry assumption of power by the Executive, whose individual popularity enabled him thus to set 
at defiance the will of Congress, a panic seized tlie business community, which, acting in con- 
junction with the embarrassments produced by the curtailments of the issues of the United 
States Bank necessary to meet the deficiency of a basis for discounts of 10,000,000 dollars, 
which government were now daily drawing from their vaults, caused a universal stagnation in 
business, followed by the ruin of thousands. Such was the demand for money to meet home 
engagements, that exchange on England fell as low as 100, (the nominal par,)*^ which is not far 

* Tlie nominal value pl.ired on thn pound sterling; in the United States, (hy custom,) is .$4,40 els., to which add nino 
per cent, exchange, iind we have $4,80, as near as may hi-. — To this sum add tme per cent, more fur CO days intorest, 
(the time necessary to g'?t fundi from England,) and we have about $i,S^ ct3. the real par value of a pound sterling, 
or sovereign, in dollars and cents. 

The exchange between the United States and Franco, (the second nation in point of commercial interest we deal 
with,") is estiniateil in francs — twenty of which mikoa French Nipolcon, answering in value the nearest to the British 
sovereign of any French coin — the sovereign luing ofalxiut S.*) francs value, hut varying with the exch inge : — For 
iostance, if France (us n nation) is indebted tu England, the demand fur British Tunda to pay the debt causes the sove- 



10 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

from nine per cent, below the real par value, allowing the pound sterling to be \vorth $4,85, 
which is about the real worth of sovereigns, (answering to the pound sterling,) for coinage at our 
mints. This state of things was much aggravated by the attempt of the President to destroy the 
credit of the Bank by the most violent and abusive attacks — both on its solvency and manage- 
ment, these being seconded and added to, by the organ of the Executive, the Globe newspaper, 
and responded to by n)ore than a hundred presses, difl'used throughout the United (States, 
under its influence and subsisting on Executive patronage. — A run was secretly made (by a 
broker in New York, since high in the confidence of Government) on a branch of the Uni- 
ted States Bank at Savannah for more than ^00,000 dollars, with the evident intention of break- 
ing the Bank — but which the President of the mother Bank at Philadelphia was fortunately 
apprized of, in time to remit sufficient specie to prevent the catastrophe. The run was preceded 
by the declarations of President Jackson and his satellites, that the United States Bank was 
then insolvent ; and had the effort to break the distant branch succeeded, a simultaneous rush 
would Jiave probably been made by both public and private depositors and bill holders, through- 
out the Union, on all the branches as well as the mother Bank — and thus by coercing a stop- 
page of specie payments, in a measure, the executive charge of insolvency would have been 
established. The ruin which must have followed, would have been incalculable. 

Tlie State deposit Banks were now requested to extend their discounts to the public, based on 
the Government funds. They were, however, kept within bounds, by the action of the Uni- 
ted States Bank, notwithstanding its crippled powers — until, as a preparatory step to winding 
up its concerns as a national institution, it commenced disposing of its Branches by transferring 
their assets to the state Banks, and receiving therefor the obligations of those incorporated in- 
Btitutions. As these branches were from time to time gradually disposed of, leaving less and less 
check on the local Banks, they in the same proportion expanded their issues, until the disposal 
of all the branches being accomplished, and the existence of the United States Bank terminated, 
they broke loose from all restraint, and stimulated by designing politicians, (of which more may 
be said at some future time,) to extend their discounts, a spirit of wild speculation was engen- 
dered, beyond any precedent in our history. New bank charters were readily granted, based on 
fictitious capital — (especially in those states where legislatures were of the dominant Jackson 
party, and more particularly at the west,) whicii following the precedents set by the older insti- 
tution.s, Bank paper became literally as plenty as rags. Such was the spirit of speculation that 
the sale of public lands which, until 1835, had never reached 4,000,000 of dollars, in that year 
amounted to about 11,000,000. Seemingly to prevent the public's taking alarm from tliis ex- 
cessive increase of sales — the Secretary ot the Treasury in his annual report, stated the sales 
for that year at about one third of the real amount only, and the succeeding year, 1836, tiie year 
the charter of the United States Bank expired, the sales increased to the enormous sum of 
'24,000,000 of dollars. 

In May, 1836, Congres.s passed an act for the " apjwrtionment among the several States, according 
to the ratio of their representation," of all the surplus revenue that might be in the Treasury tlie 
next January, exceeding 5,000,000 dollars, in quarterly instalments, to commence the 1st oi" Janu- 
ary, 1837. This division was apparently contrary to the wishes of the Executive, from some yet 
undefined cause, but as it was agreeable and in accordance with his own recommendation to 
Congress in a previous message, he could not refuse liis signature to the Bill, more especially 
as there was every probability of its becoming a law by its passage through both houses, with a 
two thirds majority in case of its being returned to Congress with his Veto — (that number being 
sufficient without the President's signature to constitute a law, agreeably' to the constitution.) — 
The recommendation of the President, in accordance with which Congress acted, was the first 
President Jackson ever addressed to that body, December, 1829, before probably the idea had 
been suggested of the political uses the surplus revenue might be applied to, speaking of which 
General JacUson says — 

" It appears to me that the most safe, jiist, and federal dispo.'iition wliich could he made of the sttrplus revenue, 
would he in apportionment among the sm^eral Mates accnriiinir to their ratio of representation — and elioiild this measure 
not he found warranted by the constitution — that it would be expedient to propose to the states an amoiidmt^nt au- 
thorizing it." 

So it seems that this measure of distributing the surplus revenue, was considered of sufllcient 
importance by President Jackson, in 1829, even to warrant the altering of the constitution of 
the United States, provided it was necessary, although some few years at'ter it was denounced 
by himself and his satellites as a most heinous measure of his opponents. 

It appears by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, that on the first day of January, 
1837, there was a surplus in the Treasury (and consequently nearly all deposited in the banks) 

reign to rise in value in Franco in proportion to its demand for remittance — and from the same cause the N.npo- 
loon depreciates in value in Knglaiid. — If, on the contrary, England becomes indebted to France, the Napideon rises 
in value in Enijland in proportion to the di inand for French funds for remillanco, iind the sovereign decroa.ses ill value 
in France — and this, as a pencral rule, liolds good in ri'pard to the exchanges of all commercial nations. — A frunc is 
20 sous, (French cents,) and a five franc piece of the French, corresponds nearly in value to our dollar, when e.\chango 
is at its real par — the dollar, however, is worth rather tlie most. 

To enable the laboring man to understand the quotations of exchange on Franco as quoted in the public prints, it is 
lufficient to look at the following table of French coins : — 

5 centimes make one sous, or cent. 
20 sous, or 100 centimes, muke one franc. 

.■) francs, or 100 sous, make one 5 fniiic piece. 
2U francs, or 4 five franc pieces, one FicDcli Napoleon. 



BY A LABORING MAN. H 

of 42,408,859 dollars, which, afier reserving 5,000,000 dollars as required, left 37,408,850 dollars 
to be deposited with the states — a sum exceeding the whole specie in the vaults of the deposit 
banks, by nearly three times its amount. This, as will at once be perceived by those who are 
at all acquainted with Banking principles, placed tliose institutions entirely at tlie mercy of the 
men wlio controlled the deposits. It did not necessarily follow, that the division of the surplus 
revenue among tlie slates, should seriously injure the deposit banks if a proper course were 
ado|»ted to divide it. The money withdrawn from the banks was not to leave the country, but 
on the contrary, in many instances, need not liave been moved from their own vaults. The 
Secretary of the Treasury by simply requesting eacli depository oi'the public money to jiave ])laced 
its quota retjuired for some particular state, (where the competent representative of tliat state 
should direct,) by a given day, anticipating the period granted by the law of Congress for paj'- 
nient to the slates, a sutHcient time to admit of a draft being remitted from the Treasury depart- 
ment, in case the depository did not perform its duty — it would probably have benefited rather 
than injured the business of the country — as l)y the purchase of bills of exchange and amica- 
ble arrangements between the banks of diH'erent sections, it would have enabled the debtor 
states to have appropriated their share to the liquidation of their debts, and in many instances 
without even moving the funds. But the course adopted was the very one that a designing man 
would have used, had he intended the destruction of the banks, and attended (whether by acci- 
dent or design, the writer may attempt to show at some future time) with all the necessary pre- 
paratory measures to produce not only a partial but a general prostration of those institutions 
throughout the slates. The Secretary issued his dral\s on the deposit banks for the amount due 
the states quarterly, amounting to over nine millions of dollars, and forwarded them to the proper 
authorities appointed in each state to rectiive their proportion. These drafts of course were pay- 
able in specie, or its equivalent, and which tlie state of the exchanges would necessarily cause 
to be demanded in many sections of the country, and might be in all. This made it necessa- 
ry that the Banks should be prepared for tlic icorst, and a curtailment of discounts commenced, 
ruinous to the business of the country. — Preparatory to each separate demand for the quar- 
terly instalments, which, as before stated, exceeded 11,000,000 of dollars, in the expanded state 
of the currency the Banks were probably obliged to call in three times that amount of circu- 
lation, as they had no assurance but that the specie, which formed its basis, might be taken 
from them by the Secretary's drafts, as it frecjuently was. It is a fact well known to those who 
travelled on the great thoroughfares for some time previous to the iirst suspension of the Banks, 
that immense quantities of specie were constantly passing and repassing on the roads, and thus kept 
in tninsUu* In order to give a correct idea of the et!ect this would have on the Banks, when ex- 
tended in business, we may suppose two vessels sailing in a brisk gale, with all their canvass 
spread to the wind, suddenly compelled, by some extraordinar}' cause, (suppose, for instance, by 
order of pirates who have them in their power,) to make an immediate interchange of ballast, 
by means of intermediate tenders — a few hours only would be necessary to make the transfer, 
but while the tenders were passing and repassing each other, in order to accomplish it, the ves- 
sels would inevitably capsize, and perhaps founder, unless the}' took in a great part of their 
canvass. — Thi.s is precisely the situation the Banks were placed in, when the Secretary, by 
his transfer orders, placed their specie (or ballast) in transitu. The people were called upon to 
pay in their debts, (in other words to take in the canvass,) which, while endeavoring to do, 
tlie ships already careening from the wind, were struck by one of Redtield's " circular " flaws, and 
all went down together. 

The seaboard Banks would probably have been able to maintain their position by great sacri- 
fice of individuals, (they having much less of the public money in their keeping than the western 
and south-western Banks, in ])roportion to their means,) were it not that General Jackson (in imi- 
tation of his assumption of power in the case of the removal of the deposits) had issued an order, 
shortly after the rising of Congress in 183G, requiring specie to be paid for the public lands. 
This order, better known as the '' specie circular," had been rejected by a unanimous vote of the 
Senate a few months before, and was again rejected the ensuing session, by more than a two thirds 
majority of both houses of Congress. The bill for its repeal did not pass until a few days before 
(Congress adjourned, and to prevent its becoming a law, General Jackson evaded returning it to 
Congress before they rose, and continued to keep it in operation until the succession of Mr. Van 

* Transitu, tho Lttiii for "transition." The writer has used this word for the reason that thi" public have be- 
come familiar with its iipplicution to tho subject now treated on, to which it was probably first applied l)y some 
member of the Executive departments, or member of Congress, whilst in Wasliington. It may not be known to all, that 
in that city there are kept for sale, at the Bookstores, [which are more particularly patronized by ('on»ress,] littlo ' 
prinier-lookiiijj pamphlets, corresponding in size to the smallest of children's books, [al)out the size, for instance, of a 
" Who killeil Cock Robin f " but without pictures.] — Thcss pamphlets contain quite a number of Latin phrases, with 
lb(tir tritnslition in English. It is very common for a member of Congress [espeiially anew member,] when about 
to deliver himself of a speech, to purchase or borrow one of these little books, and by dint of study, acquire tho 
m'^aning in English of these Latin phrases ; sometimes to the e.ttent of five or six of them. Tho spelling and pro- 
nunciation ari' more difTieult of acquisition, but that does not so much matter, as the spelliiig is copied into the print- 
ed speech from the little book, and tho pronunciation is not heard by those the speech is intended for — and those 
who do hear it cannot (most of thom) exactly say whether the Lntm words are properly accented or not. — Those 
phrases are distributed at distances corresponding with the length of the speech, and form ns it were the rallying 
points or climaxes — the intermediate space being filled up in plain Yankee English, to match as near as the subject 
will admit of; and in this way a striking contrast [if not ellect] is often produced. By this means members of Cnngreu 
are frequently enabled to astonish the public with a display of learning which their constituents wore before totally un- 
conscious of their possessing, and who are thereby sometimes themselves led to place a higher estimate on their Rep- 
resentatives' talents, for the very reasons that should produce a contrary effect — true greatness beii)g almost univer- 
sally attended by simplicity io dress, manner, and speech. 



1'^ FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Buren, who, pledged to " walk in the footsteps of his predecessor," (and prompted by Mr. Ben- 
ton, of whom more anon.) still continued it in force. This order falling suddenly on the com- 
munity, when the enormous sales of tlie public lands in 1836 had arrived at their highest point, 
was the means (as General Jackson says in his last annual message to Congress, DecemberG, 1836) 
" of conveying into the interior large sums of silver and gold," subtracted mostly from the vaults 
of the seaboard banks. Notwithstanding the mania of speculation commenced early in the year 
1835, from causes before stated, the powers of the United States Bank (even alter bereft of 
most of its branches) were still sufficient to enable it to exercise a salutary influence over the 
foreign trade, and to keep within tolerable bounds our imports, until the close of the last commer- 
cial year of its existence, which expired the 30th of September, 1835. This, Mr. Woodbury, in 
his last report on the state of the national finances, incidentally but innocently corroborates : — 

" Thus in 1831, 1832, and XH^'i, prnspero^is but not speculating years, in the interior scarcely a .single loss is supposed 
to have happened among receivers, thouiih some were then reported for suit on previous defaults, and the sanie may 
be said of collectors then and in 1835, prosperous but not speculuting years on the seaboard." 

To show how exactly the regulation of our foreign trade has gone hand in hand with the exist- 
ence of a national bank, with sufficient powers to control it through the exchanges, the writer 
would refer the laboring man (in which term he includes practical farmers, and who, he knows 
by long experience, prefer looking at facts rather tiian labored arguments) to the Sccretaiy of the 
Treasury's last report, to examine for himself He will there find, that during the existence of 
the first National Bank, which included in its term of existence 1'.) commercial years, commencing 
the 1st of October, 1791, and expiring the 1st of October, 1810, the excess of our imports over the 
exports amounted in the aggregate to about 282,000,000 of dollars, in round numbers, or about 
15,000,000 of dollars annually. This was during a period when, in addition to the freight 
and profit on our exports, we received a very large sum for freighting the products of foreign 
nations — we having the carrying trade of nearly all Europe during the wars following the 
French revolution, as before staled. The proceeds of this carrying trade, of course should be 
added to our exports, which lessen the balance probably five millions a year — about what the 
profits and freights of exports would pay. 

From the 30th of September, 1810, to the 30th of September, 1816, were six commercial 
years — embraced in the period between the expiration of the charter of the old United States 
Bank and the commencement of ihe new. In those six years, the excess of our imports over our 
exports amounted in the aggregate to 159,000,000, or 20,500,000 dollars annually. This was a pe- 
riod when we were, a great part of the time, at war, and reaped no profit from the carrying trade 
at all, but depended entirely upon our exports to pay for imports. Taking this into considera- 
tion, the excess of our imports was at least twice the amount over our exports, during the period 
we were without a national bank, as compared with the period of its existence. Again — 

From the 30th of Septentber, 1816. to the 30th of September, 1835, were ID commercial 
years, embraced in the period of the existence of the late United States Bank — we find the im- 
ports to exceed our exports ]!)9,000,000 of dollars in the aggregate, or 10,500,000 dollars annu- 
ally — about what the freights and profits on outward cargoes would probably pay. 

From the 30lh of September, 183.5, to the 30th of September, 1839, embracing a period of four 

fears, we are again without a national bank to regulate our connnerce, either Domestic or 
'oreign. — In those four years, we find the aggregate of our imports over our exports to be 
about 128,000,000 of dollars, or the enormous annual sum of 32,000,000 of dolhars, exceeding 
more than threefold the average of the excess of imports over the exports for the nineteen pre- 
ceding years, as stated. 

Thus it will be seen that our foreign trade was kept within bounds until about the close of the 
commercial year ending 30th of September, 1835, five months before the expiration of the char- 
ter of the tjnited States Bank, which expired March 4, 1830. But now with no longer a 
national institution, to watch, with its Argus eyes, the state of our exchanges, both foreign and 
domestic, and by the action of its branches maintain an equilibrium, and at the same time pre- 
vent over issues of the State Banks — the ragmg spirit of spetiulation communicated itself to 
our foreign trade, and our imports increased for the year ending 30th September, ]83(i, to 
18!l,!)80,035 dollars, being an excess over the imports of the preceding year of 40,0i-'4.2!t3 dollars, 
and an excess over the exports of the same year, (1836,) of the enormous sum of (il ,31G,!i()5 dol- 
lars. From which sums, after deducting the cost of freight and profit, (on exports,) together with 
what State and corporation bonds or stocks which miglit have been remitted and sold in Europe, 
and applied to the payment of Railroad Iron and other imports, or the proceeds drawn for by bills 
of exchange, and thus applied to the payment of imports — there could not remain a much less 
balance than 15,000,000 of dollars to be remitted to Europe in specie. The Atlantic B.anks were 
obliired on the one hand to furnish the coin for the European demand, and probably more than 
half the same amount for the purchase of the public lands, through the operations of the specie 
circular — heavy deposits being kept in the mints of the United States at the same time, under 
the pretence of coinage. All these circumstances, added to the mode adopted in the division 
of tlie surplus ; the heaviest drafts also being made on the eastern deposit banks, without regard 
to the relative amounts as compared with the western and south-western — altogether proved 
more than they could bear, and after a sacrifice of thousands of individuals, they were obliged 
to suspend. So e.xactly were the demands, by the Treasury drafts, graduated to the ability of 
the depositories, that the Mississippi depn.sit banks (the first which suspended) stop|)ed only 
two or three days preceding those of New York — which were quickly followed by nearly every 
bank throughout the Union —leaving about 24,500,000 dollars of thepublic money in their pos- 



BY A LABORING MAN. 13 

BPssion — all of whicli lias, however, since been paid, willi the exception of 1,150,000 dollars, 
which will prob;ib!y be \MUii the ensuiiij]; year. 

By the Secretary's report to Congress, at its extra session, in 1837, it appears that immedi- 
ately after the suspension, (the re|)ort being made June 15th,) there were in the Deposit Banks 
24,571,707 di)ll:irs of the public money — of which sum 1;},55I,'M1 dollars were in tlie Deposil 
Banks of the Western and South- Western States ; in some of which tlie ])ublic dcjiosits greatly 
exceeded the capital of th<; Banks, even afler their suspension — as for instance ihe Bank of 
the state of Michigan, at Detroit, had at that [)eriod .>j^t)".il,'.t'JJ,'2"2 of liic public money, wiiile ita 
wliole capital was but -4.50. 000 dollars. There are curi<jus reminiscences connected with the di- 
vision of the sur])lus not yet understood by the public generally, and which Mr. Benton could 
probably explain, as well as any other person — he not only being at Wa.shington during the 
silting of Congress in the v/inter of Idod and ]8;i7, but also remained there some weeks after 
the session ended, which was the 4th of INlarch. Perhaps it may yet be sliown his remaining 
tlwn: at that period had something to do with the specie circular and tlie explosion of the 
banks. 

To show the absurdity of the assertions that have been made by the friends of the administra- 
tion, tliat the division of the surplus revenue ufCLSsarilij caused the destruction of the Banks, it 
will be enough to slate, that the aggregate capitals of tlie tiG Deposit Banks (the number em- 
ployed) amounted to the sum of 81,()<JS,104 dollars; that the specie in their vaults on the i5lh of 
June, 18;]7, (from the Secretary of the Treasury's report at the extra session,) amounted to 
10,()()l,!K?r) dollars. This was less than 40 days afler the suspension of the Banks, which barely 
afforded time for the specie, in " transitu," to return to tJieir vaults. It probably amounted to 
much more some inonllis before. 

Tlie United Slates National Bank had a capital of 35,00'),000 of dollars only ; in all, much less 
than one lialf tlie aggregate capital of the Deposit Banks. Its specie seldom exceeded 4,000,000 
of dollars, probably less than on(> third the amount in the vaults of the Deposit Banks at the 
time of the payment of the first instalment of the surplus to the states. — With these data, the 
writer will just call the attention of the reader to an extract from General Jackson's message to 
Congress, December, 18"il). It will bo remembered that previous to this message there had 
been no visible political interference by the Federal Executive with either the currency or the 
Banks. Speaking of the public debt, General Jackson says — 

" 'I'lu' piiyincnt on account of tlio pulilic liolit, inuJo on llio first of July la'^t, was $8,715,462,87. It was appre- 
hon til III it till! .iuildni wilhrlruwiil ofso laryo a suui frmn the Haiiks in whicli it wiis d 'posited — at a time of UN- 
US (J.V I j PRKSSUllI'' in llio money market — might cause much injury to tlie interests dependi;nt on bank accoMimoria- 
tiuiH. But this evil w.u WHOLLY averted by an earlv aniiiipatiori oflt at the Troa^ury, aided by the JUUICIUUS 
arrun-imenu of the OFFICIiR.S OF THE BANK OF THE UNll EI) STATEl-.'' 

It will be observed that the sum thus paid by the United States Bank, in addition to the ordi- 
nary disbursements on account of Government, was of itself nearly equal to a quarterly instal- 
ment of the surplus revenue required of the Deposit Banks, and to more than double the amount 
of the specie in the vaults of the United States Bank, at the time the payments were made. 

During ihe sus[»ension of the Banks, the foreign debt of the country was materially lessened 
by ahi|)inents of produce to be applied to its payment; and in the succeeding spring of 18IJ8, the 
principal Banks of New York, having hired abroad and imported a large amount of specie, declared 
their readiness to resume cash payments. 

At the expiration of the charter of the United States Bank, its stockholders had obtained a 
charter from the State of Pennsylvania, for a Hank, to be called the United States Bank of 
Pennsylvania, with a capital (if the writer mistakes not) of 28,000,000 of dollars — being the 
same amount of capital as that of the Uiiiled Stales Bank, with the exception of 7,000,000 dol- 
lars of stock owned by the Federal Government, which the State institution has since cancelled 
by arrangement with the Secretary of the Treasury. The charter of this bank gives it no priv- 
ileges over other State institutions, and its only resemblance to the National United States 
Bank is in its name. The assets of the National Bank were transferred to the State Bank, which 
also became liable and responsible for its debts. A very large proportion of those assets, as has 
been shown, were debts due to the United Stales Bank from incorporated institutions, and indi- 
viduals in the South-Western Slates. — This was a section of the country where a large j)ro- 
pt)rtion of the exports for foreign markets were produced, consisting mostly of cotton ; and there 
being but little capital in that quarter afler the National Bank had closed its branches, the 
facilities afforded by the local institutions were insufficient to supply the medium required to 
make the shipments necessary to expedite the exchange of j)roducts. The United States Bank 
of Pennsylvania, in its own defence, was necessitated to step forward and lend its aid. in order to 
be enabled to collect its debts to the amount of many millions in that section. They made 
large cash advances on cotton, which they shipped to Europe to be sold with the understanding 
anil agreement, that the balance of the sales, afler deducting the expenses of freight and charges, 
should be applied to the extinguishment of the old debts. These advances were generally made 
to Slate Banks indebted to the United States Bank of Pennsylvania, on account of the purchase 
of the Brandies of the United States Bank, as before stated. — These Banks were again in turn 
enabled, by these advances, to make their collections from individual debtors by the same 
process. 

At the time the New York Banks announced themselves ready to resume, large amonnts of 
this cotton remained unsold in Europp. — The President and directors of the Pennsylvania Banks 
Bnw the d mger e.f a premature resumption, and advised it should be delaved, until one crop more 
could go forward, and thereby cancel the balance still due to Europe, The New York Banks, 



14 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

ur^cd on by the federal supporters in the state legislature, and the threats and cajuk-ry of the 
Federal Executive and its adherents, (particularly Mr. Benton,) determined upon resumption — 
which the Banks ol' Pennsylvania reluctantly acceded to — hoping to sustain tiieir new position 
from a favorable turn of circumstances. — The dependence of the United States Bank of Penn- 
sylvania was mostly on the sales of cotton in Europe. Her resources from collections at home to 
any extent beinrr rendered hopeless, from the circumstance of so large a part of her funds beincr 
loaned in sections where they could not be collected without causing ruin to whole communities, 
and, moreover, owing to the clamor raised against the Bank, and the abuse heaped upon it by 
the Federal Executive and its organs, in many parts of the country, it began to be viewed as aii 
outlawed institution, and a fair subject for plunder. Under these circumstances an attempt to 
coerce, by legal means, the payment of debts to a large amount, would probably have ended in 
the loss of all. 

The new impulse given to trade by the premature resumption of specie payments by the 
Banks, based on coin hired from abroad for a limited period only, quickly to return to Europe, 
from whence it came, without a central power to regulate its action — added to the decrease of 
duties on imports under tlie operations of a falling tariff, now almost entirely counteracted by the 
expansion of the currency, again swelled our imports for the year ending the 30th of September, 
1831), to 157,C08,5G0 dollars, exceeding in amount the preceding year 43,892,15(3 dollars, and ex- 
ceeding the exports of the same year (1839) by the immense sum of 39.250,55(5 dollars — thereby 
creating anotlier lieavy drain for specie to adjust the balance due in Europe, in addition to the 
amount now about being repaid by the Banks, which had been hired in accordance with tlie 
Bubtle plans of Messrs. Benton and others, in order to coerce a general premature payment of 
specie, to furtlier their sinister designs in producing a second suspension, and thereby creating a 
disgust in the minds of the people against the Banking system. 

The corn crops of England for the year 1833 came in about 5,000,000 pounds sterling (nearly 
25,000,000 dollars) short of an ordinary average — consequently that amount was required to be 
purchased of other nations. 

Through the Bank of England and its agencies, the slightest variations in the course of trade 
and the exchanges are detected. — Owing to the diminished demand for British manufactures 
on the continent, the foreign exchanges were already in a precarious slate (poised on an equilib- 
rium) — and but ill prepared to meet a contingent call to the amount of the imports of grain 
required, every dollar of which was to be paid for in specie, mostly from the vaults of the Bank. 
While laboring- under this heavy drain of coin, the prospect suddenly burst upon its Directors of 
a further demand of 12 or 13,000,000 of dollars, to supply the place of that amount of opium 
owned by British subjects, justly confiscated and destroyed by order of the Emperor of China. — 
In this poisonous drug, (altliough a contraband article in the Chinese dominions.) an illicit trade 
had been carried on for many years — and through tlie bribery of the revenue oliiccrs at Canton 
and other places in China, it had been applied to tlie payment of teas (and other Chinese prod- 
ucts) in place of specie, which would now be tlius unexpectedly required to fill its place — as 
teas (and otiier Chinese products) in some shape would inevitably be imported into the British 
dominions in sufficient quantities for the consumption of tlie people. Menaced with the pros- 
pect of this new and extraordinary demand, the Directors of the Bank of England found it neces- 
sary for the safety of the institution to enforce at once a rigid curtailment of its circulation, and 
an increase of the rate of interest — with the twofold object of lessening the price of the raw 
niaterial, (in common with other property,) and thereby enable the British manufacturers to sup- 
ply their fabrics at a price sufficiently depreciated to admit of more extended competition abroad ; 
and also to counteract the tendency of the flow of specie to tlie United States, induced by the 
high rate of interest paid on their State and Corporation securities. As trifling as the contin- 
(Tent calls of specie for the payment of the importation of grain and teas may seem, it was, as thua 
Btated, sufficient to derange the whole trade of the British Empire ; and probably the efforts 
made through the Bank to regain the specie abstracted from England by these demands, caused 
a fall in the price of American products in her markets to the amount of not less than 20,000,000 
of dollars * — while the necessities of her merchants and manufacturers compelled them to make 
still further shipments of goods to our already overloaded markets, which were sold for (he most 
the market would afford, and remitted to England in specie — these operations bein^ much fa- 
cilitated by the expansion of our currency, now no longer regulated by a National Bank of the 
United States, or protected by a corresponding tariff'. In this way, the Bank of England made 
her power to b<> felt from our great commercial cities (through the currency) to the most remote 
liamlet of the Rocky Mountains. — The cotton lield in Europe by the United States Bank of 
Pennsylvania, of course shared the fate of other merchandise, and was not only greatly depre- 
ciated in value, but owing to the pressure of the times, large sales could not be effected without 
Btill greater sacrifices. — That institution has been charged with purchasing and shipping cotton 
on its own account, exclusively, with what truth the writer knows not.— If by purchasing 
small parcels, wiiich would have otherwise been sacrificed, the directors could have seen a pros- 
pect of sustaining, in any degree, the price on the immense quantity they already held, the 



* Mr Van Burcn eayn, (as before stHtod,) " that the preciou.s mctnls will always be found adequate to the uses for 
wl.icl fhrv are r.Mmirrd." The revulsion tl.at the recovery of ,.-rha,.s 30,000,000 dollars caused Great Britain, .a 
ft tiufi eommentary on the text- especially as after reduc.r.g the prico other products and productive abor, to the 
amount ..f hundreds of inillionR, in order to recover the specie, by waj-m^ a war of low prices — LM!;lun<l «.i8 at 
t!st obliged to reg..i,i tho specie in part, by a loan from the very countries fiom which a great part of the grain had 
been imported. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 15 

temptation would have been very stronir to liave done so; and although such tratirfactions by a 
Banking institution could not be justified, they might be the more readily excused under such 
circumstances, especially by the inhabitants of the South, who have gained what the Hank lias 
lost on such transactions. Thus disappointed in the receipt of tlie proceeds of merchandise ia 
Europe to the amount of many milHnns, the Bank was not only retpiired to meet constant demands 
for coin fronr her vaults by bill holders, for individual remiltunces, but was also ubliaed to remit 
large sums to its agent in London to meet the payments of Bills of E.xchange, heretol'ore drawn; 
and which it was expected would have been met at maturity by the sales of cotton. 

Thus hemmed in on every side, — her resources cut oil' in every (juarter with conspiracies, 
forming at home and abroad to destroy her cret-lt, — the United States Bank of rennsylvunia, 
after makiriu the greatest efforts, and at immense sacrifices, to sustain herself, — yielded to her 
fate, and ft-ll amidst the jeers and scoffs of her enemies and the taunts of those base, conspiring 
spirits she had luit lately reached forth her hand to save. 'J'he Banks of Philadelphia, generally, 
suspended at once — quickly followed by nearly all in tiie Middle, Southern, and \Vestern States. 
Those of New York were enabled to sustain themselves by the sacrifice of the business of tlie 
city, and a great part of the commiuxial connnniiity, (eitlier in the way of suspension or exten- 
sion.) as did also most of the Banks of the Eastern States. Those of Rhode Lsland, from their pe- 
culiar position, were obliged temporarily to suspend, in order to prevent the sacrifice of the 
property of her citizens to an immense amount. They being largely concerned in manufacturing, 
caused heavy amounts to be falling due at that time, both in New York and Philadelphia. At 
the lime tlie suspension took place, there was due to tiie Rhode island Banks more than tv/o 
millions of dollars in New York, and about the same amount in Philadel.ohia and IJaltimore. 
('oUections could not be made in either of the last nameil places in specie funds short of a loss 
of from 1^ to 15 per cent — amounting in the aggregate to at least iJ.jO,UOO dollars, which snin 
must have been lost by the individual bill drawers, provided the legal rights of the banks had 
been enforced. — On suspending, the banks themselves assumed the loss on the exchange, and 
thereby saved the community not less than a quarter of a million of dollars in this item alone. 
By suspending, they were also enabled to renew New York paper to the amount of probably 
more than a million of dollars. — And while in manv instances they thus conferred benefits on 
tiieir fellow-citizens of the State, — they contributed by the same operations not a little to relieve 
the merchants of New York. The Banks being now able to grant their usual facilities, most of 
the Cotton Manufacturers continued to run their mills — which course (although perhaps with- 
out benefit to themselves,) afforded employment, through a severe winter, to thousands of the 
industrious classes, many of whom have but little subsistence for their families but what is 
derived from the earnings of their daily lab.ir. 

The Legislature convened shortly after the suspension, and (b}' act of Assembly) wisely made 
it obligatory on the Banks to receive their own notes in payment of debts, iche.rrpcr due — and 
also prohibiteTl them from receiving the usual legal damages on protested Bills of Jvvchange — 
or premiums on specie or specie funds — thus judiciously preventing any institution from taking 
advantage of its own act, and conferring on the public generally a full moiety of the advantages 
of the suspension. — \i\ a short time the balances abroad were adjusted, and the Banks again 
resumed, of their own accord; without injury to their credit eitlier abroad or at home. I'hey 
had, during the suspension, paid specie for their bills so far as the public needed it for change, 
and througiiout the whole there was a mutual forbearance displayed, both by the bill holders 
and the managers of the Banks, highly creditable to both. — The good- results which followed, 
must be api)arent to every reflecting mind. By the course pursued, the State has been saved, 
in a great measure, from the monetary convulsions of her neighbors — and including the advan- 
tages clerived by the laboring classes, is richer at this time, to the amount of millions, on account 
of the temporary suspension — while not an individual, in reality, has suffered by it ; excepting 
tho.sc few who had previously contracted debts out of the Stute, and which they were compelled 
to pay during the short period of its continuance. — During that period, there v,-as no time v.lien 
a doUar bill of a Rhode Island Bank, would not purchase as much as a specie dollar would 
hive done before. — It is true, for a short time, the bills were at a small discount in New York 
and Boston — but, at the same time, atler paying the discount, the balance left would purchase 
much more than before the banks suspcuuled — so much had all descriptions of goods fallen ia 
price, under the pressure for money in those specie-paying districts. This is a fai^t the writer 
knows by experience, and he believes none will deny its truth who have obtained their knowl- 
edge from the same source. 

It is true there are some few men in Rhode Island of the " Shylock " nature, who look to the 
onlers they retx'ive from another source, rather than to the good of tlnur own Stati' — and who 
would convince us, that the bread we eat cannot affiird sustenance unless paid for in specie. — 
Thosi- characters, as far as the writer has observed, from the highest to the lowcHt, seldom pay 
f)r what they either eat or wear, with any thing but their tono-ues. 

So far from the credit of the Banks being injured by the suspension, it has been actually bene- 
fited by the circumstance. — The ease witji which they resumed at the proper time, proved they 
possessed the confidence of the public in a remarkable degree ; and although the writer of this 
article does not own a dollar in Banks, or stocks of any description whatever, (for reasons he 
has frequently avowed for years.) lie would much prefer owning it, on account of its safely, in 
the Banks of Rhode Island to any others whatever in the Union — although he believes ihey. 
alike with all others in the States, will eventually fall before the machinations of Messrs. Ken- 
dall, Benton, Blair, and their two inferior associates, provided the present dynasty is continued 



16 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN • 

by the re-election of Mr. Van Buren. This has been his often expressed opinion for the last six 
or seven years, and ho sees no reason as yet to doubt the correctness of his former views. — 
It is true there lias been an apparent madness in tlie measures used by those master spirits of 
these evil times to effect their object — but there has been '■^method in their viadiiesg," which 
may be more fully shown at some future time. The necessary steps have all been taken, in a 
masterly manner, to demoralize, degrade, and impoverish the people, and bring them to the point 
at which they are willing to adopt amj expedient, rather than remain in tiieir present suffering 
condition. The power of a Government Bank, (not a United States National Bank,) centring 
entirely in the hands of the Executive, (commencing in the shape of a Sub-Treasury,) added 
to the already usurped powers of the Federal Executive, — will be sufficient to bring every State 
Institution to its feet, and enforce obedience to the " powers that be," including its officers, di- 
rectors, stockholders, and debtors, or compel a discontinuance of business. — Time will soon 
show whether these views, often expressed 3'ears ago, will prove correct — and when reduced 
to this dilemma, should any recreant corporation in Rhode Island prefer wealth with slavery to 
freedom with poverty, the writer trusts there will be yet enough of the unconquerable spirit and 
love of freedom of old Roger Williams left in Rhode Island, to impel her sons to step forward, 
and following the example of the Roman Virginius, annihilate, by their own legal acts, the chil- 
dren of their creation that can no longer exist but in the foul embraces of lawless power. 

NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, R. I., Herald of llie Times, February 27, 1840.] 

No. 3. 

Effects of the "False S7/siem," as displayed in the Manvfacture of Cotton. 

In the winter of 1811 and 1812, the writer commenced working in one of the first manufacto- 
ries established in New England — being in the south part of the State of Rhode Island. He 
was at that time about IG years of age, and received 4*2 cents per week, or 7 cents per day, for his 
work, besides his board and lodging. He remained in the manufactory about 4 months, and 
gave such satisfaction to his employers, that the agent of the mill offered, as an inducement 
for him to remain, to raise his wages tlie ensuing year to 50 cents per week, or 8J cents per 
day, which was declined, — not on account, however, of the wages, which were rather high 
than otherwise, as wages then were. — Girls of the same age worked for something less, and at 
these prices there were hundreds seeking employ where one could find it — so little work was 
there in the country at that time for the poorer classes.* — This particular manufactory was en- 
gaged in making yarn for sale, and also coarse cotton shirting. — The yarn sold for 84 cents 
per pound for No. 12, the standard number, and raised from ',i to 4 cents each number, more and 
jess as it rose above and fell below the standard number — being regulated by a fixed tariff. — 
This was called the " ticket price," and at that price it became a medium of exchange to a great 
extent in New England during the derangement of the Currency — before it was regulated by 
the United States Bank, which, as has been before stated, was not fully effected until some years 
after the Bank was established. — The cotton shirting made was of about equal value with the 
coarsest printing cloths of the present time; finer and better qualities of cotton goods being 
nmc used for shirting, and even for sheeting, by the poorest classes of people, than the cloth 
made at that factory, none of which is now made. The calculations that follow, however, are 
all based on this one article, as it was the only one made at that time with which the writer was 
practically acquainted; and he believes if the same rules are ap|)lied to every description of 
cotton goods, made at the present day, it will not vary the result, in any great degree as regards 
the comparative advantages different classes of the community reap from their manufacture. — 
This cotton shirting was sold, both before and afler the war, at from 35 to 42 cents — (much 
higher during the war.) — If the writer's recollection serves, the price of the raw material 
(cotton) was not over 10 cents per pound — rather less than over. — In the then imperfect 
state of the manufacture, one pound of cotton would make about 4 yards, which, at 35 cents 

per yard, is $1 40 

From which deduct 1 lb cotton, at 10 cents, 10 

Leaving for the manufacturer — to pay expenses and profit, 1 30 

on each pound of cotton manufactured. 
Notwithstanding the low price of labor, this manufactory could not be made to succeed, and 
wound up its affairs with a total loss of the whole establishment, and a further assessment on 
the individual stockholders to pay the debts of the concern. 

* Wliili! employed in this mniiuf.ictory, the writer, not being awatp of the nature of cotton in nil respects, hnd ven- 
tured into tile ninniifiictory, during working hours, wcarin'; a new brotidrloth comIcc, which cost about twenty dollurs, 
— The cotton Hoon covered the coatee completely over wilh lint, which he found very diflicult to get off. 'I'hc next 
Sundiiy he contriicted with a fellow-laborer, — that in ciiso he would brush the coat ontirelj clean, the writer would 

Cay hitn four pence half penny or fi\ cents, beinsj J of a cent less than the price of a day's work. — In the process of 
rushing and rubbing' off Ibe lint the cloth was literally worn threadbare, and in many pi ices quite through. — Although 
fine in appoarnnce, it prove<l to have been made of old clolli newly ground or cirded over, which was a description of 
cloth much sent to (he American market at that time by the Knglish. — It would have required nearly a yeat's wagei 
to have replaced the lots. 



DY A LABORING MAN. 17 

In 181G, the first Tariff for the protection of American Manufactures was passed by Congress. 
— It had its origin from the South, and was advocated by Jolin C. Calhoun, wlio has by turns 
botii advocated and op|)osed ahnost every political measure of iiiiparlance since, and who is now 
tlie most violent <)])poser of tliis very system he may be said to be the father of. At that time New 
Kncland was not in favor of tlie measure, as can be seen by the votes of her llepresealalives, 
from a mistaken idea that it would be prejudicial to foreiirri commerce, in wliieh that sec- 
tion of the C(miitry was extensively engaged. Tliis Taritl was inaderiualc to the protection 
of manufactories in their inexperienced rniimcy, which, combined witli a deran^'ed currency, 
kept the cotton business in a very unsettled slate until after the laritf ^,i' lt5VJ4, when it rapidly 
progressed — and the manufacturers, finding a ready sale fjr their goods, soon became establislied 
on a firm foundation, and gradually e.Ktendi'd their business, while the intruduction of an endless 
variety of labor-saving machinery, (nearly all invented by American citizens,) added to great 
economy and increased e.Xjjerience in the business, diminished the cost of goods to a mere fraction 
of their former price — while they were at the same time enabled to pay tlie laborer much 
higiier wages. — To give an inexperienced i)erson some idea of the extent tiial labor-saving 
machinery has been carried to in the manufacturing of cotton, it is enough to say that one man 
and a boy, on two cotton spinning mules, spin more yarn tlian 700 women formerly did in the 
same lime on the domestic spinning wheel. — The value of the printing cloths before alluded 
to, from l^^'M to 1830, has flucluated in price from say 5 to 7 cents per yard, averaging about 6 
cents, which is rather a high average for tlie nine years; the average of cotton duiing that time 
has probably been full ]•"> cents. Owing to the improved mode of manuihcluiing and stricter 
economy, about 6 yards are now made from the pound wiiere 4 were formerly. 

Say (i y;iriis at G cents, i.< 3G contj 

1 pouiiJ of cotto.i at 15 coals, 15 

Leaving the manufacturer to pay vva^os, wear of inac.liincry, buiKlinj; ami profit,.. .21 cents 
instead of iftl S'l as formerly ; — being less than one sixth, while the wages of Uie above classes 
are now fourfolded. The writer has liimself paid liundreds of boys and girls, of that age, instead 
of 4"i I') •')() cents, as formerly, two dollars and board ; and in manj' instances, girls earn by weaving 
frum '\ to 4 dollars over their board. — With these data we will compare the lal)orer of the present 
day with tlie laborer of earlier times — as regards his wairi-s and the manufacturer's profits. 

Formerly the lad received fitly cents per week, and otiier labori'rs in proportion, and ))aid say 
35 cents for the mannfa''tnred article — thus receiving about 1 yard and 4-l((tlis for his week's 
work. — Under the burdens imposed by tlie " False system," he receives .'Ji^ per week, and i)ays 
f) cents for the cotton cloth, or 'S.\^ yards for a week's work — beinir an advance on his wages 
when paid in money fourfold, and wlien paid in manufacturer's goods more than 22 fold. These 
are t'le laborers, who are plundered by the rich, as they are told by their dear friend Martin Van 
Huren, and fi/s firar friends the locos and loafers who infest every street corner, country Inn, 
I'ost O.'Hce, and grog shop, from Maine to Georgia. The laboring man is told that since the 
introduction of tliis " False sysloin," a great part of his earnings are filclied from liim by (what 
they are pleased to call the rich) his employers. If this be really the case, tliere is no class <d' the 
population who are not now reaping ffrmfcr advantages from the operations of the " False 
system," than the laboring man — and if, therefore, it can be shown that even his circumstances 
are improved, all other classes must of course he improved in a greater ratio. The writer has 
shown, and challenges the world to controvert it, that the cotton manufacturer pa3's the labrrer 
since the operation of the " False systemi," more than twenty times as much for a day's work as 
he formerly received — so far as the laborer requires the article, upon the profits of which his 
employer depends for his subsistence, and a return for use of capital embarked inthe business. — 
It will not be denied by any person acquainted with the business, that the averaije of wages when 
paid ill inone}', including female labor and cl)ildr(>n's, is fourfold what it formerly was in many 
parts of the country before the erection of manufactories. — We will suppose then, that all other 
classes have reaped only an equal benefit with the manuficturinir laborer. 

We will estimate the population of the United States I.') ,000. 000. one half of whom are prob- 
ably as capable of labor as the lad or lass of IG years of age, making 7,500,000 laborers, which at 
50 cents per week, as formerly, makes the whole earnings in one year (over their board) 
l!)5.000,000 of dollars. 

This would, before the "False sj'stein," purchase of the manufacturer's product, saj', 

By Rul'; of 'J'lireo : If 35 cents purchase 1 yard; what will 195,000,000 00 cents purchase.' 

35 )105,000 ,000 00 

.5.')7,149,a''.7 

Thu< the wholt' l:ilior of the people, exclusive of thrir hoard, would furinerly purchase nf the inanufacliircr's prod- 
wi" .557,1 1),857 yards of cotton cloth. 

ITiKJur the "f"(;'.v« sy.tem,^' the wau'o* of 7,5')0,001 laborers at S2 00 per week, exclusive of hoard, is 790,001,000 
of doll irs — which will purch ne of the manufacturer's product by the same rule of three — sav, if 6 cents purchase 
1 yard, what will 780,000,01)0 00 purchase .' 

6)780,000,000 00 

13,000,(X)0,0 )0 yds., from which deduct the amH the Liborers' wa"C9 would have purchased before t]i» 
" False system,".. .5.57,142,8.57 

12,413,8.57,143 yards ^oods, 
or their value gained by the laborer of the country in one year by the introduction of a " False 
system " — provided he is as well paid by others as he is by the manufacturers. But this is not 



18 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

one half the country has gained — tlie price of board (which is also i)aid) is nearly double what 
it formerly was, on account uf the increased value given to the farmer's products — every descrip- 
tion of which is made to count in the production of domestic goods — from his beef, pork, grain, 
wood, poultr}', to the spare vegetables from his garden. — Whereas formerly, a very small part 
of the staple products of his farm only could be sold tor cash at any price. — This is one ol'tiie 
'■ burdens " of Mr. Van Buren's " False system." It is true that the irhole labor of the country 
is not expended in the purchase of these goods, but the rule will hold none the less true, for the 
amount tliat is used — and as far as the business of the manufacturer goes, it is shown by this that 
the industrious classes, instead of being oppressed by the manufacturer, are actually receiving 
of him for one day's work, as much as they formerly received for 22. — Can the laboring man ex- 
pect his good friend, the Loco gentleman, with his segar, and glass of grog, who instructs hi:n in 
the science of political economy, to do better for him than this .-' The v.riter will most sincerely 
commiserate the laboring man's situation when his dependence rests on such a foundation — i'vv 
as far as his experience goes, that class of beings are only liberal when using other people's 
money, which they are generally known to be cxtremel}' lavi.'ih of, when it comes within their 
reat-h. After showing that the " domestic comforts" of tlie laboring man have been increased 
22 fold by the operations of the " False s^'stem," as regards the cotton manufacturer, we will 
now compare its relative bearing on the planter of the south. Formerly the cotton planter re- 
ceived 10 cents per pound for his cotton, and paid either the English or American manuiacturer 
at the rate of 35 cents for a yard of cotton goods, such as described. It will not, the writer 
trusts, be denied that by the inevitable laws of trade, the price of the lesser quantity of any 
article of merchandise in market, must be governed by the price of the greater quantity of the 
same or similar article. — And as the English supplied almost the entire quantity of cotton goods 
consumed in the United States, ])revious to the passing of the Tariff for protection, the price of 
the American goods must have been governed b\' the jnice of the English, and could not, there- 
lore, have been sold higher in proportion to their value. With this principle in view, it will be 
seen that it was of no importance as regards the truth of the results shov.'n below, whether tlie 
planter purchased American or British goods. 

Formerly one yard of cotton goods, costing 35 cents, required 2^ lbs. of cotton at 10 cents to 
pay for it. 

Under the '• False system," the price of cotton, from 1830 to 1839, has averaged probably about 
15 cents per pound — say 3.f, lbs. of cotton at 15 cents is 52A cents, with which the planter will 
now purchase of the American manufacturer, (the same cloth being nov.' G cents per j'ard.) 
G) 52.^ {!<% yards of cloth, thus receiving nearly nine times the amount of the manufacturer's prod- 
uct for the same quantity of cotton he formerly received. This manufacturer the friends of the 
cotton planter accuses of being a '• Pirate," robbing him of his property by means of a " False 
.svstem." The ditl'erence formerly between the price of one pound of cotton in the state received 
from the planter, and the manufactured article", as before shown, was $1 130 ; or the American and 
English manufacturer received 32^ cents of the planter for the manufacture of each yard of 
oloOi. Under the " False system," it has also been shown, that the manufacturer receives for 
the manufacture of one pound of cotton, in the raw state, 21 cents, or 3.^ cents per yard, a trifle 
more than one tenth on each yard formerly paid by the planter — the jiound of cotton now 
milking G yards, whereas it fermerly made 4, as previously shown. We will now see how this 
aflects^lie prosperity of tlie south on a large scale — as compared with former times. We will 
suppose the whole annual crop of cotton at the south to have uniformly been 1,500,000 bales, 
more to be sure than it has averaged during the term of years included in these calculations. 
But this will not var^' the results, as just in pro])orlion to the yearly crops, the same rules will 
ajjply, whether larger or smaller, and tlie comparisons be equally true. 

I'revious to the " False system," 

1,500,000 l):ilcE of cotton 
at 400 pounds, (uljout tli(; average.) -100 

f)00,000,000 lb.«. wliicli at 10 cent.s perpoui«l, the former price, is .«CO,000,000 — this 
v.oul'l tlicn purchase of the American or British ni:iinifactnrcr in cotton sliirting, say 
If yS cuts purchased 1 yard, what would §(iO,000,OilO 00 cts. purch:.se ? 

35 )60,000,000 00 

17J,24a/)00ofyard3/ 
Under the "False system," 
1,500,000 bales of cotton, 400 lbs. each bale, 
•103 

600,000,000 pounds at 15 cents per lb. is 90,000,000 of dollars, which will purchase under the " burdens imposed by th« 
False Rvsteni," say 

If ti cents purchaso I yard, nhat will 9,000,000,000 of cents purchase.' 

6)9,000,000,000 

1,500,000,000 yards. 
The whole cotton crop would now purchaso fifteen hundred millions of yards, from which 
Bubtract the amount the same crop of cotton would formerly purchase, say 

J,.')00,nO 1,000 yards under " false system." 
171,'342,.500 yards, before " faUe system." 

1,323,757,500 yards 



BY A LABORING MAN. 19 

more purchased by thi? planter's annual crop of cotton under the " False i5ystom " than fonnerly 
— or just in that proportion as far as he uses the iroods of tiie " Pinilical " niaiiuCacturcr of the 
north. 

The amount the planter's crof) of cotton will purcha.se under the "False system" beinfr 
1,500,000,000 of yards. This at ;}5 cents per yard, the price formerly paid by the planter, (say) 

1 ,:>0.'),OOII,000 yards. 
35 cents. 

7.')l)0,000,000 
■1.=)0.),IJ00,000 



amotmt.s to 0-i'>,(100,OUO,00 
(five hundred and tweiUy-five millions of dollars.) — Now by turning (o a table of the imports 
aiid exports of the United States, you will find that for a period often years previous to the pas- 
sajT"' ot llie Tariff for protection of Home labor, and a charter for a Bank for the protection of 
our Home rurrency, (one being the bones and sinews of domestic indu-^^try, the other its life 
blood.) and both equally necessary to its full and healthy action, the wiiule exports of domestic 
products from the United States from the tJOlh of September, ]80(!,lo the '.Wth September, I8l(i, 
to have amounted to the sum of 34i>,760,3'j0 dollars; shouing that the whole exports of the Uni- 
ted States for the ten years preceding- the Tariff, would not purchase of foreigners but about two 
thirds the amount of cotton goods whicii one year's crop of cotton ojiJij w'lU purclia.se of our 
own manufiicturers under tlie (iperations of a " Va\se system," which, if Mr. Van Buren is to be 
believed, is entailing great burdens on the planters, and |)utting a large iiroporlion of their earn- 
ings in the pockets of the " pirdticat" manufacturers of the north. It is true this crop of cotton 
is not all applied to the payment of goods, but as far as the planter uses or needs them of the 
manufacturer, the rule holds good in the same ratio. 'I'he writer knows of no method to get at 
the exact quantity of cotton goods consumed in the United States, but as Mr. Woodbury, in hia 
last lucid report, iul'orms that there has been an " increased public taste " for them of late, he 
thinks it probabh^ the average consumption in the United States lor every purpose — cloth- 
ing — bedding — furniture, and the endless variety of uses cotton cloth is now applied to — is 
not less than live dollars for each individual. Tiiis gives for the whole population of the United 
States, seventy-five millions e.tpended in cotton goods — domestic and foreign — which is proba- 
bly rather an under estimate than over. — This sum will pur<;hase, at this time, of the goods on 
which these calculations are based — ]'2r)0,000,000 yards, as shown below, (say) 
irC cents purchase 1 yard, what will T.'SjOOOjOOJjOO cents purchase .' 
C)75,000,OOJ,00 

] ,2."i0,009,091 y-irds, iillowin:; that wo used this quantity formerly, it would 
amount at .?5 cents p. r yard to 437 ,.500,01)0 dolls, as thus shown, l-.'50,00i.l,000 yds. 
at 35 cts. 



6950,000,000 
3750,000,000 



amount to «37,5I0,000,00 - 

which sum is nearly one hundred millions more than our whole exports would have paid for 
in the ten years preceding the passage of the Tariff. — But as the United States have nearly 
doubled in population since that period, we will call the consumption then one half what it is 
now, and we .shall then find that all the e.\ports for six years would not have furnished each in- 
dividual the same quantity of foreign cotton ''comforts," they now use in one j-t-ar. The great 
secret of the ■• increased public taste," is in the increased ability possessed by the great body 
of the people to buy. Our wise statesmen in Washington would be sur|)rised if they could see 
what a curious effect that |)roduces. The writer of this article once took a jjoor family into 
his em|)loy who had so little •' taste " fir dress, that two boys of 10 to 14 years old went entirely 
naked in the summer, not a rag, — not even a " rag bank bill " about them. — Before they com- 
menced working they were furnished each with suits of clothes, and as strange as it may seem, 
as soon as they were placed in a situation to earn their living, their wants kept constantly in- 
creasing; and they gradually- acquired a "taste " for most ol the "comforts," bi)tli foreign and 
domestic, of civilized life, and ni>w wear not only cotton cloth, but have acquired a •' taste " 
for Broadch>lh coats. Now should any thing occur to lessen the earnings of these young men 
in any considerable degree, (a specie currency for instance.) the writer has no doubt their " taste " 
for the " comforts " and luxuries of civilized life, will retrograde — in the precih-e ratio their abil- 
ity to gratity their wants diminishes. This is a principle, as it seems, but little understood by 
such characters as Mr. Woodbury. 

Formerly, the 1,'J-jO.OOO.OOl) yards of cotton cloth now consumed in the United States would cout 
437 ,r)00,()00 dollars; 

Under the " False system," it now costs 75,000,000 dollars, showing a gain in " Domestic 
comforts," in the cost of what cotton goods are now u^n^d by the people of th.e United States, to 
the amount of :U)7,.^00,()00 dollars, which divided among the whole population of 15,000,000, 
gives each individual about ;j^l24,20 cents in '• Domestic comforts," to pay them for the depriva- 
tiiin of GO cents of ■' Foreign comforts," of which Mr. Van Buren says each person is deprived 
by the workings of a '• Fal.se system." Examine for yourselves, and see if these calculations are 
correct, and, if they are, all the expoits of the United States at the present time for four years 



20 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN. 

would not pay for that one article of annual consumption, cotton cloth, at the price it was before 
the introduction of the " False system." 

Messrs. Almv, Brown, and Slater, first commenced the manufacturing of cotton in the United 
States. Their first manufactory was near Providence. — Since making the foregoing state- 
ments, the writer has obtained the prices their goods formerly sold at, from a gentleman well 
known in the town of Newport, and in the Stale generally, and whose statements may be lully 
relied upon. He was connected with their manufacturing establishment from about the year 
1601 to about 1811 ; and has since that time been extensively engaged in both the manufacturing 
and selling of dry goods of most descri])tions — which has enabled him not only to give the prices, 
but the comparative value of foreign with domestic cotton goods — as will be shown below. 

Messrs. Almy, Brown, and Slater's regular price lor cotton yarn. No. B.J, was 6s. or $1 per 
pound. — No. 1;^ was Gs. 6d. or $1,11 per pound. 

This yarn has been worth of late years from 18 to 25 cents. 

The price of bed-ticking was t)s. or $1 per yd., now worth 18 toSOcts. 

Shirting J yd. wide, made from No. 12 yarn, 2s. Cd. or 42 cts. per yard — none so coarse now 
made. 

Shirting J yd. wide, made from No. 16 yarn, 3s. or 50 cts. per yard — but little so coarse 
now used. 

Shirting J yd. wide, made from No. 18, 3s. 3d. or 54 cts. per yard — this description now sells 
for 8 cents per yard at wholesale, and 10 cts. at retail. 

These were the established prices, subject to a deduction of from 6 to 10 per ct. when any 
considerable quantity was taken by the purchaser. 

The raw material was then called saw-ginned cotton, and was worth from 8 to 10 cts. per lb. 

The prices of India cottons (hum-hums) during the same period, were as follows. They were 
imported in bales of 100 pieces each — three qualities in each bale. 

Callapatty Baftas, J A. 20 ps. 4-1 yd. wide, at 33J cts. per yard. 
Chillaltitti Baftus, { B. 30 pn. 4-4 yd. wide, at 2f) cts. per yard. 
Baftas, I C. 50 pa. 4-4 yd. wide, at 20 cts. per yard. 

100 piecci. 
These goods compared nearest to the cotton shirting in appearance, now selling at 8 to 10 cts. 
per yard, as above; but would not wear quite one half as long. 

Moso Sannahs J A. 20 ps. 3-4 yd. wide, at 25 cts. 
" " t B. 30 pg. 3-4 " at 20 cts. 

«' " I C. 50 ps. 3-4 " at 17 cts. 

100 pieces in each bale. 

These were very inferior goods, and compared in appearance with the lowest priced printing 
cloths of the present day, selling from 4^ to cents per yard. The prices affi.xed are the retau 
prices, from which 25 per cent, must be deducted, to get the wholesale price. 

Patna gurrahs, 1^ yard wide, were sold at 14, 17, and 20 cents. These were a much coarsei 
and poorer article than would now be used at our poor-houses, but wore at that time so much 
used, that they were considered the leading article with store-keepers: so much so, that the 
comparative cheapness of any particular shop, in the eyes of the public, rested mainly on the 
price they sold gurrahs ; consequently they were sohl at about cost. This article would not 
now sell at any price, such a " taste " have the people acquired, from some cause, for superior 
goods. 

It will be seen that these prices will nearly compare with the price affixed on the style of 
cotton goods, which the preceding calculations are based upon, and which are valued at 35 
cents per yard. It is about the same article as was sold by Messrs. Almy, Brown, and Slater, 
at 42 cents per yard, which was probably the price of rather an earlier date. Now, the writer ap» 
peals to all who will take the trouble to ascertain for themselves, if the preceding statements are 
not true. Are they not known to be so to most.' And yet the laborers of the north are told that 
the men — most of whom are laborers themselves, whose untiring industry, enterprise, and skill, 
have produced this state of things — are plundering them of their earnings, and are also robbing 
the planters of the south. Tiiese are the men who are plundering the pLiblic, while the nian"^ 
ufactured article, the product of their capital and industry, has fallen to one sixth its former 
j)rice; while the price of labor, as far as they employ it, is fourfold, and the produce of the 
farmer, and staple of the j)lauter, has increased in value .50 to 100 per cent. The writer of this 
article is not engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods, and does not depend, at present, on 
any thing but the soil for his K\ipport; but his heart sickens within him, when he contemplates 
the high and palmy state tlie industrious classes are about to fall from, in the United Slates, to 
wliich they havo been raised through the operations of a system, calculated precisely to place the 
honest poor man on a par with the wealtliy ; in other vvords, a system that possessed all the 
advantages capital can confer, without its cost. A poor man's character was his capital, with 
which, when combined with perseverance and industry, he could bid defiance to the overgrown 
capitalists, who control all the business in sjiecie countries, in which the poor man is sure to die 
in the same state of degradation and poverty in which he was born. What has elevated the 
laboring man in this country so much above the same class in any other country known.-* 
What but the cf)mliination of the credit system and the tariff for the prdtection of his labor.' 
The credit system has enabled the poor man to enter the field in competition with the rich, and 
the unfettered mind, buoyant and vigorous, has stopped at no point, but has constantly advanced 



BY A LABORING MAN. 21 

in improvoiTiont. The tariff lias protected the home markets from the floods of foreign goods, 
wliich, whether sold high or low, drain the country of its currency, and thus derange th.; 
business, and prostrate- tlie industry of the peojile, to a luindred times th(! amount. If, without 
a tariff, tin; American manufacturer could secure the home market to himself, by selling as low 
as the foreigner, it would, perhaps, be sufficient. The superior activity and ingenuity r.f the 
Americans, would enable them to compete fairly with the cheap labor ot" the broken-spirit(;d 
laborer of Europe; but this will not secure the homo market. The English capitalist can 
send his goods to our markets at a less expense, even lor transportation and freight, than many 
of our own manufacturers; and every yard he sells, not only takes the place of the same amount 
of domestic goods, but he requires his pay in money, the lilt' blood of business. The individuaiss 
who purchase goods, are as ready to buy the foreign as tiic American, at the same price, and 
therefore the foreigner is as likely to sell the same amount of goods in our markets that the 
American manufacturer can; the American consequently finds his goods leil on hand, and 
diminishi<s the production of them accordingl}' ; but just in {)roportion as his are withdrawn from 
market, the foreign goods are forced in their place, until the domestic are finally nearly 
excluded. 

The planters of the south now supply nearly all the cotton manufactured in England, and 
Uiey now raise quite as much as is wanted. Suppose five other countries were to raise an equal 
amount of cotton with themselves, and likewise siiip it to England ; would the planters of the 
south be sure of a sale for their crop of cotton, from the circumstance that they could sell it 
as cheap as others? Or is it not probable, if all sold at the same price, that the soutiiern planterB 
would lie able to dispose of one sixth part of their cro]) only ? They would then be in the situ- 
ation of the manufacturers of this country, without proti'ctive duties to a sullicient c'xtent to 
insure them the home market, under all the Huctuations incident to trade. England protects 
her home market, which is probably worth ten times, to her manufacturers, the sum of all the 
markets in the world besides; this being the case in all manufacturing countries, so much does a 
business that em])lo3's all classes add to tiie general weallii. England receives but a very few 
of our staple products ; not enough to pay for one third of the auiount of manufiictures wi? now 
use, at the present reduced prices. Should we not, then, protect our home market, and thus 
enable our laborers, our fanners, and our mechanics, to jmrchase their clothing b}' the products 
of their farms, their slio|)s, and the price of their labor, esjiecially as we njquiie all the jiroceeds 
of our exports for otln-r "comforts," as our table of imports clearly shows.' What, then, if we 
depiMid upon foreign countries fir our manufactures.' We of course could not pay for the 
amount we now use; but would that enable us to manufacture them for ourselves.'' No; we 
should soon come to the state tliat other nations have come to that do not |)rot(>ct tlieir industry ; 
wi- should, in a great measure, do witliout the comforts of life, lor the want of ability to purchase 
them. For our clothing, the great body of the j)eoiile would have to return to the old mode of 
domestic manufacture, Ijy which, as before stat( d,7()0 persons did the work of two of the present 
day. Practical men will see this must be the result of the abandonment of the ])rotective 
system, however it may be ridiculed by hair-brain<>d theorists, like many now holding conspic- 
uous places in "the councils of the nation." To employ labor-saving machinery to any extent, 
requires a combination of capital and industry, which will soon be broken up, without a steady 
and sure market at some price or other for tlu; articles made. And if our markets are opened 
to foreigners, while theirs in turn are closed to us, we shall be precisely (as f.ir as it relates to 
our manufactures) in the situation of two hostiU' cities, the one strongly walled and defended at 
every point, the other entirely exposed, and destitute of defence — open to the incursions of their 
protected enemy at all ])oints, and at any moment, and subjected to continual harassings; or we 
should be like two farmers, whose (>statos are s<'parated only by a public liighwaj'. Farmer 
Thrifty has enclosed his farm, and effectually prevented the incursions of his neighbor's cattle. 
Farmer Easy allows his to remain oi)en and ex])osed. Farmer Thrifty turns his sheep and young 
c.ittle into the highways, as often as he sees the grass on his neighbor's farm rising to a green 
bite: which is no sooner eaten off, than he again takes them into his own enclosure, where they 
ure entirely protected by sufficient fences to prevent a re.'taliation of Farmer Easy's starving 
cattle. 

This, I presume, is Mr. Van Huren's idea of the true "system," or free trade; especially as it 
would be imposing ''heavy burdens" on Farmer Easy to obligi! him to fence his farm. Should 
our illustrious Chief Magistrate, when passing that way, com|)are the ajipearance of Fanner 
Thrifly's cattle with that of his neighbor Easy's, he would, judging from some foreign as well 
as homo experience of the writer, have a pretty tolerable idea of the comfortable appearance of 
the great body (d" tli(> i)eople of a country whose industry is protected, and also that of their 
neighiiiirs, who are in the full enjoyment of a free trade, all the advantages of which are reaped 
by one side only, as in the case of Farmer Tliritty. 

The opposers of the tariff at the south say tln^y would have their goods cheaper, were it not 
for the tariff. The writer has shown that they now get nearly nine times as many goods of 
their own countrymen, for the same quantity of cotton, as they formerly received from for- 
eigners; and be it remembered, that their own countrymen have been driven into the business 
of minufacturing by the south. They were opposed to the system, until encouraged by its 
adoption to invest their capital in manufactures, which they have now done; and it has become 
t'le business of the north to manufacture the cotton, as much as it is the business of tlie 
south to raise it. And now, when the manufacturer has reduced the price of the cost of 
nunufacture to 21 cents for six yards, while tliey formerly received, before the tariff, $1,30 



23 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

for the manufucture of 4 yards, say 3^ cents now, instead of 32^ then, and at the same time 
liave advanced the pknter's cotton 50 per cent, in price, lo! and behold! the friends of the 
planter, who first originated the tariif, turn upon the manufacturer, and call him "a pirate." 

Since the commencement of the manufacturing of cotton in the United States, the improve- 
ments in machinery have made greater advances in one year than they had done before in ten. 
in England there was more labor than employment, and"on that account, it was extremely diffi- 
cult to introduce labor-saving machinery; and the discouragement thrown upon its iiitroduction, 
palsied the inventive genius of the people. The tariff, in connection with American manufac- 
tures, compelled the English to adopt improved inventions in machinery, in order to enable them 
to cojnpete with tljc United States, not only in their own markets, but, in many iiistances, in 
those of foreign countries. So much were the laboring population in England opposed to the 
introduction of labor-saving machinery, that many manufactories were much injured, and much 
niaciiinery destroyed by tiie populace, in the attempt to introduce its use, from an impression 
that its application would be injurious to the laborer. At this day, the competition of the 
American manufacturer is severely felt by the English in Soutli America, Mexico, Canton, and 
other markets, especially for the coarser qualities of cotton fabrics ; a positive proof that they 
are made as cheap here as in Europe. The manufacturers at Manchester have even copied the 
stamps of American goods, on account of their being better than their own, and preferred in 
foreign markets. So long as England supplied tiie whole world at her own price, it was not 
necessary to introduce labor-saving machinery. At any rate, the call for it was by no means 
urgent, and entirely opposed to the wishes and the prejudices of the people. In America, the 
contrary state of things existed. As soon as the business of manufacturing was fairly estab- 
lished, labor was wanting to supply the demand, and a great stimulus was applied thereby to 
the natural inventive genius of the people, the effects of which are apparent to all. Without 
this competition, there is no good reason to suppose that labor-saving machinery would have 
been introduced to any thing like the extent it has been ; and we should have now been probably 
paying the British far more for goods than the present prices. But if we make goods cheap 
enough to compete with the British in foreign markets, where there is no discrimination in 
duties, the question may be asked, then, why need protection .-" The writer, referring to what 
ha.s already been said on that subject, would ansv/er farther, for the same reason that a mechanic 
requires a shelter to v/ork under in a variable climate; or that a farmer needs a fence around 
ills cornfield, in a neigliborhood where hogs and other destructive animals are allowed to run at 
large, whose nature is not only lo cat, but to wantonly destroy. 

NARRAGANSETT- 



[rrcm the Nevvpoit, R. I., Herald of the Time.s, filiirch 5, 1840.] 



Farther Effects of Mr. Van Buren's "False 8i/stem,''' as iUuslratcd in the 
Mamifacture of Wool, ^^c. S^c. 

The writer of this article commenced the manufacture of coarse goods,, called linsey woolscys, 
which are used principally for negro clothing at the south, about the year ldl5. lliis v.-as be- 
fore the introduction of any woolleu machinery into the neighborhood, excepting carding ma- 
chines, lie has since continued te manufacture negro cloths for the southern markets until 
recenily, and has followed the business, through nil its stages of improvement, from its com- 
inencement. The method he pursued in manufacturing the goods, at its earliest stages, was to 
purchase the cotton 3'arn for the warps, ready spun. The wool was carded by water machinery 
into rolls, and in that state put out to spin in families in separate quantities of about 25 pounds. 
Each parcel would make from 50 to 75 skeins of yarn, for wliich four cents were paid for each 
Bkein when spun. At that time, tlie writer emjjloyed from 75 to 100 spinners, generally one 
only in a family. Three skeins were considered a day's work, and a woman consequently 
rnrned Y2 cents per day 'I'here were, at that time, liundreds of females who could f:nd no em- 
ployment, and it was considered a gre;it favor to get work, even at that low rate. 1 hose females 
who had learned to weave, and culd afl'ord to purchase a loom, did somewhat better; but 
their number was STnall in proportion to t'le other description. The wages a woman received 
for spinning would probably amount to from 5 to 10 dollars in a year, and was gener:illy ex- 
pendecl in some article of dress, perhaps a calico gown for the mother or oldest dauahter, and a 
little cotton cloth. Tlie wages of the common m;m laborer was mostly paid in farmers' produce, 
estimatv'd at four pounds of salt pork or one half busliel of corn for a day's v.'ork, and board, 
or the value of the corn in some other article, corn being the "cash" of tiie poor man at that pe- 
riod. The very best of laborers, strong and active young men, received from seven to eight dol- 
lars per month, and boarded, for the season, consisting of seven of the warm montlis, or from 
five to si.K dollars per month for the year, including the winter. As late as the year 1620, 
the writer hired tv.'o excellent laborr-rs, during the suiinner months, to work on a farm, for 
twenty-five cents each per day, for all kinds of work required, excepting mowing grass, during 
the season of which their wages were double. The wages of a family of seven persons, as de- 
scribed below, would be poniething less than the following estimate for one year ; — 



BY A LABORING MAN. 23 

F tlier of tlio family works on a farm for §.'> por niontli for the year, iind boardcii, is S"'' 03 

KKh'st son, 520 years of n-jo, works for $7, ami Ijoanled, 84 03 

EldcKl day^litcr works out at 50 cents per week, and boiirdi d, 2r> OS 

Mother of the family carm l>y spinning 10 00 

One d.iu;;!itor, 15 years old, iiotliiii^ to ilo. 
Ono Hon, 13 years old, works out for \:U hoard. 
One dauj;liter, 11 years old, nothing to do. 

SI80 00'' 
Out of this sum, rent for house waa pTid, and scliool-bill of children, provided they were sent 
to school, which was not oilon tJie ciisc. 'I'lioUbimds of families of this description subsisted 
entirely on the choaiK'sl food, knew but little of domestic comfort, and nothing of foreign "com- 
forts," e.\cppt perhaps a little mola.'sses occasionally. 

Tlie wife and children were generally clothed in tow cloth of the coarsest quality, and 
frequently miserably clad, so much so that it was a common circumstance for the greater part 
of a family, particularly the femtiles, to ulisent themselves atltlu^ iS-pprfWch of a stranger, or 
even neighbor, decently clothed. The writer has wiliicssed this in hui|drt'ds of instances, and 
has often delayed his entrance into those dvvellings of the poor for a few minut(^s after an- 
nouncing his approach, to aflord time to the inmates to prepare, and thus spare a pang to the 
honest pride yet struggling in the bosom of hopeless povertj'. 

Not only were the fimilics of the common laboring man of this period clothed in tow cloth, 
but so were most of the families of the farmers. Tliey each raised their own llax. wjiich was 
manufactured by the iamily. This was done from sheer necessity. The whole exports of the 
Nortlu^ni and Eastern States, that could he applied directly to the payment of European goods, 
did not then probably exceed hve millions of dollars annually ; and the consequence was that 
all foreign manufactures became cash articles. The importer being obliged to [>ay cash for the 
first cost, the retailer, in turn, was oblisred to pay the wholesale dealer in the same coin, which 
he, in turn, depended upon receiving from the consumer. The consumers, (with the exception 
of those connected with foreign commerce, and a few other wealthy citizens, who engrossed the 
n)oney of the country,) having neither i)roduce nor labor that would sell to any extent for cash, 
were consequently debarred from the use of foreign goods. 

The tiirmers were therefore obliged to make their flax and woo] into cloth by the domestic 
process, some parts of which, as before shown, required the work of 700 ])ersons to perform 
what two will do with the improvitl maclr.neiv of the j)resent day, and wliich, but for the 
combination of tariff and credit, would not probably have been introduced f)r centuries to come. 
As well might we plant an acorn in the uiiddle of Broadway, the principal street in New York, 
and expect it to grow to a tree, without a fence to guard it, as to expect that a business re- 
quiring the experience and capital (or its nearest eciuivalent, credit) that manufacturing by 
improved machinery does, should be able, without protection, to compete with the establish- 
ments of old countries surrounded by all the necessary conveniences and accompaniments. 

But to return from this digression. The negro cloths manufactured by the writer, at this 
period, were sold at about 'yO cents jht 3'ard, both before and for a short time after the tariff of 
181G. Although Uie laborer was so poorly paid, there was no profit derived from the manufac- 
ture. The impulse given by the tariff of iflG caused sosne more labor-saving machinery to be 
introduced; and, in IS20, a small manufactory for carding and spinning by machinery was 
erected. As labor-savinij; machinery continued to improve and to be used, the price of labor 
gradually rose, and the value of the'manufactured article tell. I'he first female the writer ever 
employed in a uianufactorv he paid one dollar and a quarter per week, and the woman boarded 
herself. This was in about tiie year 1820, from which time until 181?.") or 183G, labor of every 
description has constantly advanced ; and, at the latter period and since, a family answering to 
tlie one before described would earn as follows : — 

Father of ihc fnnily would reeeive $14 por month, and hoardod,. SIPS 09 

Elilest son, 'JO yeiirs of ii;:o, §17 per inoith, and bo:irdnd, (in many in9t:inces, dout)lo this sum,) 2;)4 00 

Ehltst danf;lilcr, ft:2 prr week, and boarded, (in minv in.^t mcos, nearly doublp this sum,) 101 00 

Daughter, 15 yoirs of a^n^ SJ} 5) cts. per week, and boards herself at lionie, (as before,) KiO 00 

8nn, 13 years of a!;p, $1 per week, and hoarded, 59 00 

Mother and youngest daughter keep lionse, 

$058 00 

Thus showing that the same description of family that formerly received iJilSO for a year's 
services, now. under Mr. Van Buren's " false system," receive $658, or nearly four times the 
amount; at the same time that the wages of the laborer have so much increased, such has been 
the effect produced by labor-saving machinery, experience, and strict economy, stimulated by 
domestic competition, that the article of manufacture has fallen more than one half; the same 

* 'I'his sum i.i far more than niost funiilics of this description earned at that time. 

Pinco makini out this st'itcmonl, the writer has received the following letter from an aged gentleman, who baa 
been a jiractical farmer nearly all bis life, and whose statcmetts can be fully relied on ; — 

« i>»,.,„.t».) i.-:„™ " South Kingston, 2d mo. 22, ISiO. 

** Kespectea Kinsman, ' ' 

" My son informed mn thou wished I would give tliee what information I could respecting 

the pviie of la'inr sonic years ago. He mentioned the lime I lived in Philadelphia. While I lived there, I hired 

so lllle day lalior, that I have no recolliTtion whatever respecting it ; hut I well rcnicmlier, before I wi-nt ti-ere. 

vvliicli was in 1797, I hired good hands to lal)nr upon the f«rm for three doll.irs per month, and, in h ly-linrvpsl, lor 2() 

cents per <iay. Th:it, however, wos something lower than common ; but five dollars per month was the more 

gcncr.ll wages for approved laborers, and go through the season. RoHpeclfiillv, 



24 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

article selling for 20 to 25 cents per yard that formerly sold for 50, while the cotton of the 
planter has been raised, as befUre shown, from 10 cents to 15 cents per pound, and the wool of the 
farmer nearly or quite doubled in price. It is true this article has not fallen so much in price as 
the goods made entirely of cotton, as shown in a previous statement: this is owing to so large a 
proportion of its value being in the stock, which, as bcfure stated, has been much advanced in 
price. The actual cost of manufacturing the goods has probably diminished nearly as much as 
that of the cotton goods before described, in Irict, the whole price paid for the cost of manufac- 
ture is now, with the exception of the stock and materials, considerably less than was formerly 
paid for spinning the yarn only. And should our present wise rulers invent some plan by wliich 
the manufacturing laborer can afford to loork fur nothing and hoard tliemselnrs, \t cnnuot mrite- 
rially lessen the price of the goods to the southern piaaiters, unless the wool and cotton, of 
which they are made, should be reduced in price also. 

The cost of labor formerly expended on a yard of these goods, independent of the cotton 
warp and materials for each yard, was, say, 

For carding, 4^ ceuts. 

For spinning, 4 " 

For coloring, 1 " 

For ueiiving, C " 

Measuring, baling, &c ^ cent. 

Total, Hi cents per yard. 

The writer has had the same labor performed, of late years, under the "false system," all for 
three cents per yard ; and whereas the woman who formerly spun the yarn received but 12 cents 
per da}', the same woman now weaving on a power loom, at eight mills per yard, will frequently 
earn from three to four dollars per week. The same calico that was formerly bought by the 
pittance obtained by spinning, then costing 50 cents per yard, is now reduced to less than 13 
cents per yard. 

Formerly, one week's work, at 12 cents per day, would purchase less than one and a half 
yards, while now a week's work of the same person will purchase as follows: — 

If 12 cents purcliase one yard, what will §3 50 cents purchase .■" 
1 

12 ) 350 

29 yards and more ; 
thus showing that, whereas a week's work would purchase less than IJ yards of calico former- 
ly, the same work will now purchase more than 29 v/tf/v/* of the same article. This looks like 
romance, but it is, nevertheless, strictly true ; but the wildest and most preposterous romance 
ever read is that which calls the system which has ])roduced such results a '• lalse system." The 
family formerly squalid and miserable are now, under the "false system," respectable, indepen- 
dent, and happy, and have "acquired a taste,"* as Mr. Woodbury quaintly obs^^rves, not 
only for foreign goods, but also consume soine hundreds of dollars' worth annually of the cot- 
ton, rice, sugar, corn, tobacco, &c., of the south ; the flour, pork, beef, cheese, butter, and 
lard, &c. &c., of the great west; the iron, coal, &c. &c., of Pennsylvania; the countless va- 
rieties of tho Yankee products of .the east; and not unfrequently i)urchase the lumber of Maine 
and North Carolina, to build houses of their own. The laborer of this country, as before shown, 
has been elevated in the social scale at least ten-fold, within the last twenty years, if we take 
into consideration the rise of his wages, on the one hand, and the fall of the manufactured arti- 
cles, on the other. The domestic manufactures of this country, at the present time, would 
probably amount to not less than $800,()00,00() annually, if valued at the same pric(>s we j)aid 
foreigners for them some twenty years since, — an amount greater than the exi)orts of our do- 
mestic products would liave then paid for in a quarter of a century. At the same time, such has 
been the impulse given to every branch of industry, by the protection of our labor from foreign 
interference*, that, after adding this immense wealth yearly in our own nianufiictures, our e.x- 
porls have nearly doubled in the same time. The; value of our domestic mainiCaclures, 
amounting to, say $!:}00,0()0,()00 annually, is almost an entire addition to our national wealth, 
— it hehig the produce of our labor, both in the manufacture and the sii|)plying of the materi- 
als, the proceeds of which are diffused over every part of the Union, and paid for by the products 
of labor most congenial to each section, — giving life and animation to the trade of the whole 

* After the m'lniifacturing business became well establislind in Rhode [.aland, the dommd for friujije laborers wna 
BO groat, that travelling agents were cmphiyiul by many nianuf.ictnrers to visit the Islands and out of the way |il,;ce9, to 
procure families to work in the mills. Alany imligenl females were, by ibis o<inr3e, provided with work, who wc.uld 

not otherwise probably, owing to Ihoir dcpro-^sed condition, have so soon obtained it. Mr. , a manufucturer 

near Providence, hired a finiily of thi^i description, who h id lived in a small, one-slory house, tho only access to tlio 
garret of which was by means of a ladder. It seems they hid associated so little with people in better circumstances, 
as never to have gone up a pair of stairs. When introduced into the cotton mill, sn'h was the (brce of li.-.bit that, for 
some dnys, in descending the stairs, tluy uniformlv came down bickwiinl-i, in llio same manner they had been accus- 
tome'l to descend the ladder. — Their dress, at that time, accorded wilb Iheir manners. They soon, however, " ac- 
quired a taste " to descend ctairs jis others diil, and had scarcely worked two years in the nanntii'lory, when, upon 
applying to Iheir employer for some money, they expr(^s3eil their intention of going to I'rovidence for ibc piirptse of 
employing a mantuamaker lo make some urticKs of dress. The money was paid them, accompanied wiib the obser- 
vation, that there we:.' a niunber of inantuamakers in the village, which would reniler it unn cessary to t'o so far as 
I'rovidenco. Thi'y, however, dechircul there was no (nanliiamiiker rjooi) enouoh for ihkm in the vill ge, and ac- 
cordingly hired a horse anil chaise, and proceeded lo Proviilence. This was probably from their having "acipiirod a. 
taste" for fine dress, fioni some cause that perhaps Mr. Wooilbury could explain. 



BY A LABORIiNG MAN. 25 

country, and making business for an iiniuense amount of shipping. Three quarters of the labor 
and materials would-be valueless, in case we depended on forei;rn nations for our manufactures. 
If we suppose the immense amount of goods now consumed in tins country to be imported as 
formerly, «/i7 that thiij could be paid for by e.vporting the products of the soil now consumed at 
home, "the shipping of tlie world would not be suthcienl to make our exchanges, and there 
would apparently be no end to our wealth; and yet, if we take into consideration the real value 
of our domestic articles over our imports, as adapted to the wants of the great body of the 
people, we shall probahly liud that thriai their amount, in articles we have been accustomed to 
im|>ort, would not atlord the same comftrts, even if we should add to this amount the GiJ cents' 
worth of foieign '-comforts" each person is deprived of by the workings of a "false system," 
which that profound economist Martin Van Buren so pathetically laments. 

Could the enemies of the •• false system " succeed in destroying it, and break up the manufac- 
turing business in the United Stales, there would be an end to the prospcritij of ivmj section of 
the Ihvon. Even supposing we could find a foreign market for the same amount of our products, 
now consumed by tliose who are engaged in the thousand various grades and branches of that 
business, from the nature of agriculture, a small part of the population of a country only can bo 
etiiciently employed, and but for a part of the year. Men of weakly constitution, women, and 
children, can be of but little service in tilling the soil, while they are as capable of working in a 
manufactory as the strongest men. During the long war with Napoleon, when England was 
contending for her existence, a child of ten or twelve years of age, employed at home, by the aid 
of machinery, earned suliici(Mit to pay, e(iuip, and keep in the field abroad, an able-bodied 
soldier, hired from the specie despots of the continent; and thus these children aided not a little, 
by their humble labors, to subdue the conqueror of the world. But for her manufacturing and 
banking system, England would have probably been overrun by the armies of France. When 
driven by necessity, she sent her specie abroad, and, in lieu of it, coined her iionor into gold, 
and made her internal exchanges, for more than twenty years, entirely with a paper currency, 
based on integrity alone. 

If the farmers of th ■ manufacturing stiites will turn their attention to the subject, and mako 
out a list of the articles they now yearly di.spose of, they will find that not om; quarter tho 
amount would bear transportation to foreign countries, even if they would receive them. They 
raise but few of the staples that will answer to send abroad. These are now confined to tho 
south and west, and, even of these, the- northern and eastern states probably consume at least 
one half they have to spare. New England alone consumes about 1,UUI},();)0 barnds of flour 
annually from the west — a greater amount than is taken by all foreign countries in th(> world. 
The manufacturing states cannot consume less than 40,000,01)0 dollars of tjio cotton, rice, 
tobacco, sugar, and other products of the soutli, and not less than :}0,000,000 dollars worth of 
the farmers' wool — one article alone. Foreign nations already receive from us as many of our 
products as they can pay for at; their present prices ; and, if w^e send them more, the only effect 
will be in the sime ratio to lessen their va ue abroad, without materially increasing the aggregate 
amount received. The world is by nature a prodigal, and spends all it has to spare; we can 
only get our proportion of what surplus it has to spend, send to other nations as much as we will. 
There is a very general idea prevailing, that people consume in proportion to their wants, 
instead of their ability. Nothing is more ernmeous, as tlie writer has before endeavored to 
show. The wants of mankind are mostly artificial, created by the ability to gratify them. 
When driven by necessity, a full-grown man may be sustained by twopence worth of bread a 
day. Doctor Franklin proved this in his own person. And more than half tho population 
of many specie countries exist, at this present time, up-iii a ti^w ounces of bread, and perhaps 
a little vegetable broth, or water porridge, each day. In proportion as the labor of a i)eople is 
advantageously and geni^rally employed, and they are allowed the benefit of their earnings, in 
the same proportion will their ability be to buv, and, as a general rule, consume. Their neces- 
sities will be first provided for. then the articles most indispensable to their comfort, and, after 
all these are supplied, they will commence the use of what are called luxuries. Jt was supposed 
by many at the time the tariff laws of 181iS were passed, that it would prevent the importa- 
tions of foreign goods to such an extent as to render direct taxation necessary for support of 
government. So far from this being the case, by its encouraging tho manufacturing business, 
full employment was given to the labor of the country, and at a high price. The consequence 
was, that the great body of the people were enabled to consume not only twice or thrice as 
much of domestic products as formerly, which were thus enhanced in value, but also to become 
competitors in the market for foreign goods; and, under high duties, the imports increased. 
And this will alwa3'S be the case, just in ])roporlion as the production and manufacture of all 
those articles are encouraged by a nation netressary to give steady employment to all classes of 
its population. The more articles a community produce and maniificlure themselves, the more 
they will have to dispose of, and the greater will their ability be to buy of others; and, should 
their industry produce articles sufficient to satisfy every known want at home, artificial wants 
would increase, and cause the importation of something or oilier to the amount of their surplus 
products — even if ship-loads should be sent to the Straits of Babelmandid, and exchanged for 
cargoes of Arabian sand. 

In ancient times, it was customary to reckon distance by time. This is perhaps the most 
rational mode ; and, when men become wiser, it is possible the price of an nrticle of produce 
or manufacture will be reckoned by time. Unless there is some peculiarity of soil or climate 
necessary to the production or iinnufactnre of an article, we shall say that which requires one 
day's work of a man in one country, costs as much as it would provided the same day's vork 
3 



~^> FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

was expended in another country. It is true the laborer may not roup the same benefits him- 
self iVoin liis labor, expended in one country, as he may in another; but the real cost of the 
article will, nevei theless, be the sasne. " Here lies the difference." The laborers, for instance, 
of the United States, enjoy the full benefit of their wages, while the laborers of Great Britain, 
for iiist nice, have not only to earn a sufliciency to support themselves and families, but are cniu- 
pellfd at the sa;ne time to support at least one fourth of then- neighbors in idleness, and wlio live 



at ]>erhaps ten times the expense they do themselves. 
There can he nothing acquired by man ne( 



jquired by man necessary to satisfy even his simplest wants, without 
more or less labor. It was so ordained by his Creator from tlie beginnino-. 

It follows, of course, that those who purciiase the products of the laborers of Great Britain, 
in that same proportion indirt-ctly pay for the support of those idlers ; and yet the people of tlie 
United States are told they can atf'ord to send tlieir rav.- materials more than three thousand 
nnles across the ocean, and, v.'hen manufactured, bring them back, and get their goods cheaper 
than when made at home. 

The writer believes tint it will be adinitled by all, that an American mechanic can make as 
good machinery as any foreigner, and that our American laborers can do as much with it in a 
given time as those of any other country. It will also be admitted that we have sutiicient 
water power and coal to impel any amount of machinery whatever. With all these advantages, 
our purchasing the minufactures of foreigners, in preference to making them ourselves, amcuntsr 
to the same tiling as if we should send say one hundred of our own manufacturing mechanics 
and laborers to Great Britain, under the impression that they could there make goods tor us 
cJicaptr than at home. ', .In the first place, we nmst be at the expense of transporting our cotton, 
our wool, our iron ore, and other raw materials, across the ocean, all of which mast pay a 
duty on their arrival in England. We must tlien be at tlie ex()ense of sending our Hour, our 
rice, tobacco, sugar, molasses, beef, pMrk, butter, lard, cheese, poultry, mutton, veal, corn, rye, 
barley, lumber, wood, potatoes, apples, turnips, cabbages, hay, straw, beans, peas, fish, and the 
countless variety^f articles, the produce of our soil and labor, that are consumed by the laboring 
man, and necessary for his comfortable support. We shall not only be obliged to pay the ex- 
pense of transporting those articles across the ocean, but, when they arrive, be subjected to pay 
a lieavy duty on all of tliem, not only for the necessary support of the British government, but 
also for an immense number of idle aristocracy, who subsist on liie interest of the public debt, 
and a vast number of other idlers, as before slated, who, while they consume more than their 
proportion, at the same time produce jiolhing themselves. Under this stale of things, is it 
possible that we can ])ay another return freight for the manufactured goods in addition, and yet 
have them made ciieaper there than at home" 

What signifies the price the British goods can be bought for in specie.' All the specie we 
have in tlie United States would not purchase supplies sufficient for the subsistence of our 
population to exceed two wee/is. The true jirinciple is not how much money an article costs, but 
iiow much time or labor, or how much of the product of labor, we pay for it. On this princi])le, 
which is the correct one, we siiriU find that what apparently costs one dollar in Europe will ire- 
qucntly require ten dollars" vvortli of our products to pay for. Our sending so many products 
abroad instead of using them at home, it is true, would make a great show of business, but it 
would be upon the same principle that the Indian rolled the stone up hill to see it roll down 
again. The cost would altogether be a tax on our own industry. 

The writer has already shown that the i;lanter pays but tiiree and a half cents per yard for the 
whole expense of manufacturiiig a yard of coarse cotton goods; many descriptions do not in 
reality sell for more than two and a half cents per yard beyond the cost of the raw material. 
Iiow is it possible to get tiiem tniirk cheaper, even should Ihe foreign laborer work for nothing? 
It would not, in thnt case, vary tiie price to exceed one cent per yard at the most; and the only 
means of essentially reducing the price of the manufactured article, will be by the reduction on 
the cost of the raw material. This will no doubt be the effect of a specie currency, and an 
abandonment of the tariff. And, in that case, the foreigner wiil probably get our products for 
the one half they now do, while theirs will come cheaper to us only in the same ratio as our 
decreased ability to purchase shall cause a less consumption, and consequently a less demand. 
In that case, by the immutable laws of trade, a reduction in price will be the consequence, 
although to probably but a very small amount, as the quantity of foreign goods consumed in 
this country is but sarill compared with the consumption of the whole world ; and tlie price 
will of course only be reduced in proportion as the aggregate demand of all the nations of 
the earth combined is lessened. 

By turning to a price-current, say of 1816 or 1817, we find that the ()rices of most foreign 
articles disconnectfd with manufactures, were much higher at that period than tliey have been 
under the '• false system." 

(.'oTo;,' was tlicn wmili, |i(>r poiiriil, frmii 9^ to T5 crnt». 

."^lol s<rs, per giilloii, t'n.iii .'i) to X\ (■cuts. 

Brown Sii:;ur, per (■«■!,, IVoiii l:i to II dollurs. 

.At these prices, a day's labor of a man at 2'> cents per day, which was about the wages of Uiat 
pi'riod, would purchase about one pound of coffee, or one half gallon of molasses, or less than 
two p;}unds of su<rar. 

By turning to a price-current of the present day, we find 

(yoftisn is now worth only FJ to III J cents prr poinifi. 

MoJ .s*"", '.'J to 29 coiits per s Hon. 

Drown Su ; ir, 5 to 8 cciilB per [lound. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 27 

At these "false system" prices, a day's labor at say G5 cents per day — which is about the 
present price of agricultural labor — will purchase say six pounds of coflec, or nearly three 
gallons of molasses, or ten ])ounds of sugar. An allowance must be made, of course, in each 
calculaliiin, for the difference between the retail and wholesale price ; but the relative proportion 
will lie tiie same — showing that the laborer gets aliout si.\ times the amount of even these 
"f(jn/:in roinfortu," under the '■■false fujstcm," that he formerly received for the same amount of 
labor before the establishment of the late '"bank monster," and the tariff for the protection of 
home labor. 

The.ie articles, at that time, probably cost about as much abroad as tliey do now. but the 
spur given to every branch of liusiness by our credit system, and home labor protection, has 
caused them to be iiiiportcd, and afforded at the least possible price. AVhen the whole business 
of the country was in the hands of over-cautious specie capitalists, they did not risk the god 
of their idolatry short of cent, pi-r cent. The planter now gets these necessary articles of con- 
sumption for aSjout one half what he formerly paid, at the .same time that his sta])le, cotton, has 
risen fifty per cent, in value. With regard to tlie cost of his negro clothing, which is one of his 
most expensive i)urchases, it has been shown that, as far back as IblG. he paid for it fifty cents 
per yard, and received ten cents per pound for his cotton, or he gave five ])ounds of cotton for 
oiu' yard of negro cloth. Under tlu; '"false system," he has received fifteen cents per pound 
for his cotton, which gives 75 cents for five pounds; and the negro clothing of the same 
description has been selling, for some years past, at from 20 to 2.") cents per yard, or he now 
receives more than throe yards of negro cloth for five pounds of cotton, in lieu of one yard 
as formerly. 

As has been before stated, tiie people of New England were formerly clothed principally in 
linen. In the year ISl.'S or 1816, the writx^r was concerned in a mill erected for the purposo 
of manufacturing linseed oil from flax-seed. It was situated in the soutli part of Rhode Island, 
and there was suHicient Ha.v-seed raised in the neighborhood to keep it running a great part 
of liie year. As the domestic manufactures were introduced, and a nuirket thereby aflbrdcd 
for the farmer's produce, he gradually adopted the cotton fabric instead of the linen; and. at 
this present time, so general is its use, that it is doubtful if all New England would aiford 
flax-seed sutiicient to keep one oil-mill in full operation. The southern planter is apt to 
underrate the value of the home market; but let that market be destroyed, and let the manu- 
facturers and laborers of New England be compelled to enter into competition with the south 
in raising for export, instead of man iifacturing cotton, — and the price will quickly be reduced 
to less tlian a moiety of its past value. 

^Vh:lt has given tiie value to the products of the west.' In the year 1819, the writer spent 
the summer in Cincinnati, in the State of Oliio. There was then scarcely any sale for the 
farmer's produce of tiiat section of the country, at an)' price. The price of corn was twelve 
and a half cents per bushel, and no considerable quantity could be sold, even at that rate. 
An ac(piaintauce of the writer's informed him tliat he had been out to General Harrison's farm 
at North 15(Mid, on which ho saw as fine a field of corn r.s ever grew, consisting of nearly or 
quite one hundred acres. He was struck with its fine appearance, and was indulging in a gross 
estimate of its value, when General Harrison observed that he sliould have the whole field upon 
condition of his paying his famil}''s shoe Lill for one j'car; remarking, at the same time, that 
there was no sale whatever for the crop, and it would not even pay for harvesting. The 
writer remembers staying all night at a farmer's house, on the road between Columbus and 
Clevelanil. This farmer stated that t!ie nominal price of his corn was twelve and a Inlf cents 
per busiu-1, at which price he could sell but little, while he gave three dollars per bushel for his 
salt, whicii he not only had to i)urchase for his family's use, but also to give his cattle. To 
remedy this evil, our " penn}' wise and pound foolish" present rulers would, no doubt, go to war 
v.'ith tile duties. But stay a monunt, and see what has been the effect of the '• false system," as 
regards this f:irmer. Tlie writer well remembers ordinary brown cotton shirting was then 
retailing at Cincinnati for three eleven-penny bits, or thirty-seven and a half cents per 3'ard, 
and it v;as probably as high, if not higher, in the country. This farmer at that time gave 
twenty-four bushels of corn f()r one bushel of salt, and three bushels of corn for one j'ard of 
shirting. He probably used, for his family and cattle, ten bushels of salt a year, which required 
210 bushels of corn to pay Cor it, provided he could sell, his corn. The full en)])Ioyment of the 
labor of the middle, northern, and eastern states, has, as before shown, enabled the people to 
consume four times the products of the farmers of the west as formerly, for which they pay him 
in a manufactured article at a fraction of its former cost. In the mean lime, the canals, rail- 
roads, and other facilities grown out of the "false system," have so reduced the cost of trans- 
portation — thereby raising the price of the produce of the west in the same proportion as it 
lessens the cost of the seaboard articles — that this firmer has. until very lately, probably sold 
his corn for fifty cents per bushel, and has given not over seventy-five cents per bushel for his 
salt ; thus showing that, in the simple article of salt alone, he gains as follows : — 

Formerly, HI huslicls of silt, at $;} per liiishel, co-:t $10 00 

Requiring 240 busliulj of corn, ul 12.J cents, to p ly yil 00 

Under Mr. Van Biiren's " falsn system," t!ip f:irmf>r lias receiveJ, for 240 busheU of corn, or the 

same in pork fitted foni it, iit 50 cents, ]oo 00 

He pays, fm 10 huslieU of sail, at 75 cents, 7 50 

Sll"} ,50 
*tus showing a gain, on ten bushels of salt only, of §112,50 in favor of the "false system," 



28 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

with which to nieot the deprivation of foreign " comforts " to the extent of sixty cents annually 
for each individual. Tlie writer is not certain wiiat tl)0 exact prici s of those articles liave been 
in recent years in Ohio ; but a. little variation from the prices stated will not materially vary the 
results. 

TJie Honorable Thomas H. Benton tells this farmer that he (the farmer) is a much-abused 
man, being subjected to an odious tax on his salt. In a letter some time since addressed to his 
enlightened constituents, he informed them the weight of a bushel of salt sliould be increased 
by law, — something like thirty pounds, if memory serves, — and says the price of a bushel 
will not be enhanced a fraction by the operation. This same honorable gentleman, in 
making some remarks on the subject of salt duties, in the United States' Senate, a few days 
8'nce, said that, when the speculators in salt wished to get an exorbitant price, they '■• per- 
iuadcd" the proprietors of the salt-works to discontinue their business. '■'■ Pr.Ts^iudr.d!" this 
was the very word lie used. What good-natured men these salt-makers must be ! When a 
nation's welfare is in the hands of such men as this, what can we expect but disgrace and ruin? 
This is tlie man who is destined to succeed, in the regular order of the succession, to the presi- 
dency — provided Mr. Van Buren is reelected. Tiiis is the man who has been plotting, for 
years, to destroy this "false system" of credit and home-labor protection, under tlie operations 
pf wliich this country has grown up to be the envy and wonder of the world. Free of debt, 
inarching on to greatness with unexampled rapidity, producing and manufacturing, within her 
ovi'n vast territories, nearly every articl(> of necessity and comfort, ajid enabled, by the excess 
4tif her products, to supply tlie liumblest of her citizens with articles 6f luxury only enjoyed by 
the rich of the most highly favored of other climes. 

Since the election of Andrew Jackson, the expenses of the national government have been 
increased nearly fourfold ; notvi'ithstanding whicli, our Chief Magistrate, and his loving Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, yearly issue tiieir carefully worded messages and reports, to prove the 
deep solicitude they t'eel in the dear people's money. Not satisfied with this, Mr. Van Buren, 
witli paternal kindness, admonishes them all individually to curtail their expenses, as the gov- 
ernment is doing. Those who have seen a maudlin toper preaching sobriety to his hearers, or 
have heard a spendthrift lecturing on the virtues of economy, may Ibrm a pretty correct idea 
of the practice, as compared with the precepts, of our most honest President, who, in imitation 
of an ancient Roman custom, should henceforth be called " Honestls." But, while we hear 
so much said about the people's money, we hear but little said about the people's time or labor; 
the loss of wliicii, in comparison with the loss or executive waste of their money, is, as regards 
the latter, but dust in the balance. 

It has been shown that a family of seven persons, of the description of people Mr. Van Buren 
says are most oppressed by the '-burdens entailed by the false system," now earn, in one year, 
$6')8, a part of the family being boarded by those they work for ; as will be seen by reference 
to the preceding calculations. To get the whole gross earnings of the family, the fair price 
of this board must of course be added; in which case we shall find the following icsult to be 
the whole sum of their year's gross earnings: — 

Labor and board, as before shown, §658 

Ho:ird of f.ithir of 111'' family, $1 75 per week, iU 

Bouril of cidpst son, do., 91 

Hoard of eldest diiu^jbter, nt $1 .5'J per week, 78 

Board of youngest .sou, at $1 per week, o'i 

Total, $»70 

It thus appears that the whole earnings of this family are TiTO dollars each 3'ear, including their 
board. From a reference to the individual members who compose this family, it will be con- 
ceded, that, as regards sex, age, and capability for labor, they will not more than average with 
the whole population of the United States. With these data, calling the present population of 
the United Stales 15,000,000, we find, by the rule of three. 

Say, If 7 earn $970, what will 15()030!)0 

970 

IO.iilll()0(IOJ 
]3j:)00000 

7)i4.'i.'iooano?o 

$9ll7t<.57l4'28 

^'thal the whole value of the productive labor of the United States amounts to more than 2078 
millions of dollars annually. As far as the laborer is employed in agriculture and manufac- 
lurinar, it is fair to presume that those blanches yield double tlie amount of the laborer's hiie ; 
it being customary, in many parts of the country, to imjirove hind, and the proceeds to be 
divided between the landlord and tenant, in equal shares. Allowing this rule to hold good as 
regards all hranclies of business, this sum must be doubled to give us the annual products of 
our nalicmal wealth. But as, from sickness and other causes, there is much time lost, and as 
many individuals are lazy and add nothing to tlie coinmon stock of wealth, but, on the ccmtrary, 
sfpiander and destroy the products of others' labor, — among which class Mr. Van Buren and 
his hundred llioiisatid ofiire-holding friends hold a consjiicuous station, — we will deduct, from 
the sum of labnr. r)78.(K)0,00(l dolbirs, ;\ui\ call the interest, and return of capital invested, 

",1000,000,000 dollars only. We shall then Jiave left 1500,000,000 dollars, as the wages and board 



BY A LABORING MAN. 29 

of productive labor of every d.'scriplion, whicli is probably near the truth; to wliicli add tho 
returns of capital, and we have 'J.')()(l,(H)0,()tH> dollars, as the annual products of our national 
wealth. This is about 8,0()0,(M)I) dollars cacli day ; thus showing that one and a half days' labor 
of the people is suificient to have paid the expenses of the Federal (ioverninent for one year 
during the administration of J. Q. Adanis, which was about 12,()U0,0()() dollars annually ; and also 
that two and a half days' work of the people is sutficicnt to meet the expenses of misgovernment, 
this present and last year, of Mr. \'an Burcn's administration, amounting to 18,'J8(I,()II() dollars, 
as estimated by Mr. Woodbury, and corroborated by Mr. Van Buren in his annual message, and 
by botii declared to be sutUcient for the present year, provided Congress did not make e.xtrava- 
gant appropriations. Hut, as both of those immaculate worthies have already informed Con- 
gress, altiiouirji no appropriations have yet been made, lliat the treasury will be bankrupt on the 
tiftli of .March next, live days hence, unless tliey are authorized by Congress to issue about 
5,000, 000 dollars in Treasury Notes, with the privilege of reissuing the same as often as Mr. 
Secretary Woodbury or his masters choose, — it will probably be nearer the truth to estimate the 
expenses of the Federal Government, for the present year, at 40,000,000 dollars, or )iv(! days' work 
of the people. Mr. Van Buren, in his recent communication to Congress, asking for money, lays 
the blame, as usual, to the banks ; wliile Mr. Woodbury, probably for the sake of variety, signifies 
he should not have b(^eu obliireil to ask favors of Congress, were it not for the iut'Tlerence 
of obstinate juries, who would not allow him to tax the merchants to an extent the exigencies 
of the state required. This he seems to tluiik particularly hard, especially since he has learned 
from Constantinople, the capital of the Turks, whose country is the only one of importance in 
the world that is blessed with a Sub-Treasury upon the plan about to he adopted in the United 
States, that it has been the i)ractice there, from time immemorial, to levy contributions on all 
Jews, merchants, and othei persons obnoxious to government, to any extent the Grand Viziers, 
Pachas, Basliaws, Agas, and Janizaries of the Grand Turk please, and to enforce their payment 
by the free use of the bastinado and bowstring. 

There is probably not less than one third of the labor of the country paralyzed at the pre.sent 
time, and as the same amount of capital must lose its productive character also by this circuin- 
Btance, the daily loss to the whole country is not less than 2,700,000 dollars, while the whole 
amount of money owing to the government by the former deposit banks, about which we hear 
so much, is but iil(l,141t,'.K(-l, as .Mr. Woodbury himself states, in his last annual report, being about 
4 hours' work of the people. Is not tliis adding insult to injury indeed ? Supposing th(> labor of 
the country to have been paralyzed since the commencement of Mr. Van Buren's administration 
to the amount of (J months for the whole population, (rather under than over the real amount 
probably,) and it appears the total loss, when estimated in money, is l"2r)0 millions of dollars, a 
sum sufKcient to pay for all thi; rail-roads, canals, and steamboats, in the United States; and 
then leave a balance, the interest of which alone would pay the iicccssiirij expenses of govern- 
ment forever. In case this lost labor had been applied to such improvements, they would not 
have cost the country in reality one farthing, although it would probably have made .some trans- 
fers of the property of the rich into the liands of the laboring poor. The statesmen who think 
theie is no other species of wealth but silver and ffold, will ridicule this, and exclaim there is not 
specie enough in the world to paj' one month's labor of its inhabitants, at this rate. True, and a 
fanner migiit as well value the product of his wheat field by the cost of the sickle with which it 
is reaped, or the aggregate value of the produce of his farm bv the cost of his ploughs and other 
tools necessary to tdl his land, as that a rational man should estimate the wealth of a nation sole- 
ly by the amount of specie u.sed to make the exchanges of the products of its labor. A sufficient 
currency is as essential to the advantageous combination of the capital and industry of a nation, 
and also to enable the people to reap its products, as tiie sickle is essential and necessary to the 
farmer to reap liis grain, without which it would soon perish and be lost to man and beast. But 
the sickle does not bear a greater relative value to the fields it from year to year is iised to reap, 
thin does a currency to the value of the aggregate wealth of a nation it from year to year is used 
to diffuse. ^Vithout sufficient fools, the land of the farmer must go unimproved, let him have 
any niimhrr of Inhorrrs ; and without a suHicient riirrcncij the energies of a country will stagnate 
and become dormant, let its rcsoiirns be what they may. Dail}- labor, the great and true wealth 
of a nation, is essential!}' different from any species of accumulated wealth. A persoii may have 
a barrel of flour to sell — day an.er day passes without a purchaser, but when eventually sold, and 
the price pa il. the difference is but trifling whether sold a week earlier or later. But a i)Oor man, 
having his day's labor to sell, must meet with a purchaser in the morning, otherwise, when the 
day is |)ast, his properly has totally vanished with the setting sun, and is lost to himself and his 
country, never to be regained. 

The " false system " of Mr. Van Buren was perfected by men who were practical in tlveir 
views, and of liberal and expanded minds — the exact opposites of the miserable, selfish, cunning, 
pe'.tifogginir characters who now sway the destinies of this country. Led on b}' the intuitive 
genius of FIknkv (^i.av, whose name will ever slaiul high in the annals of his country, while his 
miserable slanderers will be remembered only to be execrated, a system was perfect(>d in which 
all the great interests of the country were so happily blended, that for years, a day's lal)or was 
not lost to a poor man who was willing to work, while a ready sale awaited the products of every 
section of the country. This, with otlier causes before shown, has been the secret spring of the 
htherto unexampled prosperity of this country over any other known. The people have been 
left to follow that pr)fession which best suited their iiiclinilions or talents, unobstructed by 
law or custom; and while their industry has been protected from the baleful influence of a com- 



J^O FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

petition with the laborers of oppressive governments, who give nearly all their earnings to an 
idle aristocrncy, our credit system, as before stated, has given our citizens all and greater ad- 
vantages than those of other nations receive from t!ie capitals in silver and gold their task-mas- 
ters possess — and which is the real engine, in fact, that enslaves them. 

Credit is the criterion or thermometer of civilization and liberty. — It sinks below zero where 
vice and barbarism prevail, and it expands and rises in communities, in the precise ratio as they 
have advanced in tiic paths of knowledge, liberty and virtue, and where confidence exists be- 
tween man and man. — In no country on earth had it expanded to so great an extent as in this 
— and never in any country on earth beside, had the great mass of the community enjoyed such 
advantages, or been so highly elevated in character, as in this. — In the genial moral climate, its 
high altitude so U'uly indicated, poverty was unknown. — The laboring man, who in other 
countries scarcely earns his daily bread by ceaseless toil, had here attained to a point where his 
labor not only furnislied his family with the necessaries and comfiirts of lill?, but he had suf- 
ficient leisure to cultivate his mind, and to improve his higtser ficullies. Modern improve;nentu 
in the arts were fast doing away the necessity of excessive labor, and the justice of our laws and 
institutions divided the advantages obtained equally between the poor and the rich. — The ex- 
changes of the various products of ditierent sections were made at once to the best advantaoe, 
and not suffered to waste and decay; waiting for the over-cautious movements of usurious 
specie capitalists, as in former times. The high moral standard the community had attained to, 
rendered the use of specie almost unnecessary, and that most expensive njedium of exchange, 
the use of which to any great extent is in fact a tax tiiat barbarism pays to civilization, was in a 
great measure dispensed with. — The exchanges of labor were made with far greater safety in a 
paper currenc}', resting on a basis of 20,000,000 dollars only, than they are now made with about 
the same amount of paper, resting on a basis of more than HO,000,()CO dollars. — This was the 
Btate of things when the people, run mud with prosperity, in an evil hour elected Andrew Jack- 
son, a semi-barbarian, to the Presidency. His election was the signal for the assembling of the 
most desperate and corrupt spirits of the nation around him — anci the measures they instigated 
him to pursue, laid the foundation for tlie ruin of his country, now about to be completed in the 
rez^fH of his successor, Martin Van Buren. God grant the people may, om; and all, yet see 
the gulf that yawns beneath the precipice, on the brink of wliich they now stand, — in time to 
avert their fate. — One step more and all is lost. — The keystone will be placed in the arch, the 
chain Viill be rivetted. 

It is said the ducks from Lake Erie, that float in the river above the Falls of Niagara, are at 
first unaware of the downward tendencv' of the current in which they swim. — They gradually 
approach the falls, and while they feel themselves more and more impelled by the insidious 
stream, they yet feel no apprehension — trusting to use their wings when necessary. They are 
carried into tlie rapids, but still they fear no danger, foolishly supposing they can fly at any 
moment; but when, scared b}' the roar of the iiilis, they at lengtli attempt to rise, they find, 
alas ! that the current has become too rapid for their wings, and after a short and fruitless strug- 
gle, they are precipitated into the abyss below. Let tlie people of tliis country lake warning 
from their fate. They too, like these simple ducks, have been beguiled from the smooth waters 
of Lake Erie, by almost imperceptible degrees, into the swift currents of Niagara. — They liave 
already reached the whirlpools and the rapids — the hoarse roar of the resistless cataract is 
sounding in their ears, and warning tliein of their danger. — Let tliem fly while yet they have 
strength to contend with the stream, or they will soon reach a point I'roin which it will be in 
vain to attempt to rise, but will be, in spite of their struggles, precipitated into a gulf from 
which they will never ascend. NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, K. !., Iliruld ulllie Tiiiif s, March 12, 1810.] 



Further Effects of 3Ir. Van Bnrrn's " False Si/ stem," as connected with Banks, 
"Bank Hags," Sub-Treasury , Specie Currency, S^'c. S^'c. 

Extract from the speech of Mr. Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, in the United States Senate, on 
the Bill for a Treasury independent of the people, in reply to Mr. Clay, of Kentucky. 

" RudiiKP our nominal to the real staiiiiarii of prices tlirousliout tlie worlil, anti you covf-r our country with hUssingj 
end heiK'lUs, I wish I could .fpotik in a voic-e loud enou;;h to he heard throughout Now lOnglund, beriinse, if the 
ATTENTio.N OF THK M.\ viF ACTUiiKRs could oncc he dir'ctiii to the suhj ct, their own iulelli^'ence :iud n ilive sagacity 
would leacli thi-nr how injnriou.:ly they are atl'ected by our hlo.itcd Bunliiiig aud credit system, and would enable theui 
to ipply the proj)er corrective." 

In the preceding communications the writer has endeavored to show some of the effects of the 
" False system," (ns Mr. Van Buren has been pleas(>d to style it,) as connected with internal 
improvements and the manufacturing of cotton and of wool, as far as the latter article is used for 
negro clothing, which is of but little importance, it is true, in comparison with the whole business 
of the woollen manufacture. But the writer has confined his illustrations in figures to those 
branches only with which he is practicnlly ae([nainte(l, as he is well convinced that the only 
knowledge safely to be relied on is that derived from actual experience alone. Had any doubts 
remained in his mind on this point, they would have been effectually expelled upon witnessing 



BY A LABORING MAN. 31 

ihc blighting cfTfcts producod on our national prosperity since the management of its affairs ha« 
been intrusted to thi' administration now in power — whose wickedness and lolly, since they have 
jissuined the reins of government, may be likened to a crazy-headed madcap, mounted on a strong 
horse that he has succeeded in cajaling into an impassable bog, which he is nevertheless resolved 
to cross, in spite of the oil-repeated warnings of the neighbors, who are better acquainted witli its 
danirerous sloughs. He has succeeded, by alternate coa.ving and spurring, in exciting the noble 
animal to make several d':'sperate efforts, — each of which has only plunged hun deepi^r in the 
raud. — The rider still persists in urging him on, regardless of the sufferings of his e.\hauated 
steed, and tlie entreaties of tiiose who commiserate his condition, and wiiom he bespatters with 
filth as often as they attempt to approach for the purpose of assisting in a return to the sliore. 
Tiie horse, liowever, at length begins to manifest more reason than the man, and has come to a 
dead stand still, with his eye obliquely turned on his unfeeling master, with the intention, as it is 
shrewdly su-spected by the bystanders, of watching a favorable opportunity of dislodging him in 
the mire, and returning himself to the safe ground he has been beguiled from by his treacherous 
rider. 

Most people are too apt to look at the great questions of linancc/connectcd with government, as 
being disconnected with and independent of the sauie |)rinciples of cause and effect that control 
the concerns of individuals, when in fact tiie results are dependent on precisely the same causes. 
There are instances of an individual character in most neighborhoods that go to prove, tlint the 
same f|ualific.ations that insure success in a small business, will generally ])roduce the same re- 
sults on a larger scale. In (act, it is well known, that a large proportion of the wealthiest men in 
tlie United States began the world with notliing; commencing on an exceedingly small scale, and 
gradually extending their business, as their experience and means increased, while their minds 
were of "that cast, as to expand with the magnitude of their operations, and thus enable them to 
coiui)rehend and control a largo business, with as much ease as they had formerly done the ons 
of trilling importance. And as a general rule it will be found true, that just in the same propor- 
tion as men have ]>roved themselves qualified to manage to advantage small affairs, the}- will in 
the same degree succeed when their field of action is enlarged ; provided the steps that lead on 
are not too hastily taken. Whereas the class of m(>n who proved themselves incapable of man- 
aging a small business to advantage, are almost sure tafnil, vi'hen they attempt to act on a more 
extensive scale, whether the principle be applied to a retail store-keeper, a wholesale merchant, 
a private banker, a Secretary of the Treasury, or a President of the United States ; let their party ' 
politics be what they may — and the same results will be produced, whether it be the assignment 
of a pedler for the benefit of his creditors, or the bankruptcy of a nation for the benefit of a 
usurper and his hundred thousand executive officers and slaves. 

The present administration is coniposcd mostly of men whose individual histories demonstrate, 
tliat so far from possessing the qualifications necessary to manage the affairs of a nation, they 
were not even capable of prosecuting an ordinary business with success. In fact, it is well 
known to all who have taken the trouble to ascertain the truth, that many of the men who now 
e.xerciso a great influence over the destinies of tliis country, were bankrupt both in character 
and purse, before they were admitted into a share of the Government, and the spectacle is 
e.xhibited ti an admiring world, of tiie whole wealth and prosperity of a great nation being 
indirectly placed at the disposal of men, who would not have been thought trust-worthy for the 
payment of a pair of boots where they were best known. ~ 

The cause of so many corrupt characters being now connected with government, is very plain 
to those wlio think and examine for themselves. One of the first political principles established 
in tlie lute reign of Andrew Jackson was, that the I'resident and his officers should all constitute 
wiiat he was pleased to denominate ■' « unit;" in other words, tliat from the highest of the 
Secretaries in Washington, to the lowest bluodhuiind whipper in Florid i, tliey sliould all be as 
the body of one man — of which the President was to be the head, and whose will was to be a 
supreme law to the mrmhrrf: of tlie hiidij. Mr. Van Buren was probably the originator of this 
doctrine, he being Secretary of State at that time. Most of the remaining members of the cabi- 
net, however, refused to acknowledge it, so far, at least, as it was carried b}' the President, who 
insisted not only upon his right to control their political cn'cd, but also insist."d on being al- 
lowed to regulate the social intercourse of their families. These members were dismissed on 
their refusal to call on a lady of General Jackson's acquaintance, and to save appearances, Mr. 
Van Buren retired with the rest — but was almost iin;nediately appointed minister to the Court 
of St. James, with a salary amounting to nearly double the one attached to the Secrelarisliip he 
had just resigned. 

This doctrine being thus enforced, all future aspirants to office made their applications with a 
perfect understanding of what was expected of them. Under tliis arrano-ement, it became next 
to iainossible that an Itonorahle man should obtain an appointment, under the Federal govern- 
ment, of any importance, and ifhe by accident did, he would soon be obliffed to relinquish either 
liis office, or his hmesty and independenc(> — as in the nature of thinirs, it is universally known, 
that all men's views will more or less differ on many subjects — both of a political and of a 
private nature The inevitable effect of this was, as it proved to be, that an honest man was 
disciiarged from office as often as he allowed his sense of right to coiitVict with the will of his 
superiors — while the unprincipled office-holder would conform to any thing, however wrong, 
rather !han relinquish the office, the emoluments of wliich enabled him to live in idleness. 
(Witness, fir instance, the disiuissal of Mr. Duane for refusinir to re^nove tiie Public deposits from 
the United States Bank, contrary to the expressed will of congress, as has been before stated ) The 



32 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

establisliment of tliis principle was tlie first important step taken in tlie grand scheme originated 
in tlie early part of Andrew Jackson's despotic reign, lijr consolidating all the state governments 
into one central, federal government, and to perpetuate it in the hands of the reigning dynasty 
and their delegated successors; — the first of whom, after General Jackson, was to be Martin 
Van Buren ; the next Thomas H. Benton, who will undoubtedly succeed Mr. Van Buren, if 
rei'lccted, (and who, if elected, the writer of this article firmly believes, will be the last President 
the United States will ever have,) that being agreeable to tiie terms of the contract originally 
entered into — as may be gathered from a variety of circumstances, some of which will be gone 
into more fully hereafter. This principle of action in connection with the cunningly devised 
dogma of Mr. Van Buren, '■'■that rotation in office is a sound democratic jirinci/ilc," and also the 
one as e.xpressed hy his particular friend Governor Marcy, that '■'■to the victors belong the spuils" 
— was by skilful management soon made sufiiciently etfective to turn the scale of power in 
favor of the executive branch of the Government. It being thus established tliat "the spoils," 
or money of the people, belonged to the Executive, and that it was to be obtained only by those 
who should prove themselves most subservient and eficctive in its support — operated as a pre- 
mium on dishonest}', to the extent of the whole revenues of the country, and great numbers of 
corrupt and unprincipled characters were soon seen wending their way to the seat of govern- 
ment. It being impossible to create offices fast enougii to supply the demand, the disappointed 
applicants were dismissed, with the understanding, tiiat in case their future conduct should give 
fiuthcient evidence of unreserved devotion to tiie Executive will, they should each be supplied 
eventually with an office, and if not with one created for their especial benefit, that agreeable to 
the established principle of "rotation in office," they should be provided for by the removal of 
some other incumbent, who would perJiaps be sufficiently gorged with plunder, or who migiit 
evince a want of devotion or energy in dischargring his duty at the polls, in lecturing, or in any 
other way where the interest of the Federal Executive should be at stake. 

This cunningly devised plan effectually detained all these floating, unprincijjled characters on 
the side of the party in power, for the reason that they stood an equal chance of obtaining office 
under the existing administration, — as they would in case of a change, with the additional 
security that the depraved characters most of them possessed, would be a recommendation with 
the present Executive; whereas that circumstance might defeat their expectations, were honest 
men again placed at the head of the nation's aflairs. Under this stimulus, office-seeking has 
become an established profession, to acquire wliich, a regular apprenticeship is served under the 
Federal Executive by vast numbers of idle and unprincipled men in all parts of the country. 
By thus making it their constant study, they become as expert as Chinese jugglers in the art of 
deceiving the people, and in using them for their own and their Master's purposes. It has been 
observed in Europe that those American politicians who are most clamorous in their devotion and 
love of the people at home, — are the most abject and cringing in the presence of the aristocracy 
abroad. This is perfectly in accordance with the great principles of" Cause and Effi^ct." 

In the United States the people are, as yet, the source of power, it is not the people, but 
THKiR POWER these debased characters reverence — and when they are transported to a country 
where they find this power lodged in the person of a despot, they at once transfer their abject 
devotion to him. It is the same disposition manifesting itself under different circumstances. 
Being utterly devoid of principle, they pretend all things to all men, and arc as ready to adopt 
one sentiment as another, provided it will equally advance their own interest, without regard to 
the good or evil effects it may produce on the community at large. Since Andrew Jackson was 
elevated to the presidency. Executive officers have been constantly nmltiplying, for the two- 
fold purpose of rewarding its adherents, and also that by means of tlie salaries attached to the 
appointments, its officers may be enabled to render more efficient aid at the polls than wlien 
acting simply in their individual character. If any reader should doubt the truth of this, the 
writer will simply refer Iiini to the case of the Custom House in the City of New York. — During 
the administration of John Quincy Adams, according to the re])ort of a conmiittce of v.'hich Mr. 
Benton was chairman, and Mr. Van Bunm a conspicuous member, the number of Custom Mouse 
•ifficers in New York amounted to 174, and the aggregate of their salaries amounted to '^\ 19,t)G2,;30 
ccTils,- — This was held u[) to tlie peo])le, by the friends of reform, as a monstrous and alarming 
abuse ol' Executive power. This too was at a period when the revenue collected from customs 
at New York, amounted to over 13,000,000 of dollars. The whole revenue from customs col- 
lected for the commercial year 1827 Ix-ing 19,712,000 dollars, i;5,217,(j'J5 dollars of which accrued 
at the port of New York; and for the year 1828 the whole revenue collected from customs 
nmouiited to 21,.')00,000 dollars, i:},7'ir),2-17 dollars of which were collected at the port of New 
York. Mr. Woodbury, in his hist annual report, estimates the whole revenue to be derived from 
customs this present year, at If), 000, 000 of dollars, of which, as will be seen by comparison with 
the preceding, about !> or 10,000,000 dollars will be paid at the port of New York. This is 
probably full one third more than will be actually received, it is true this is less than has been 
received heretofore, but at no time has the revenue received at New York exceeded the amount 
in the aggregate paid during the term of J. Q. Adams, for any four years together; or if it lias, 
it iiuisl have been to a vc!ry trifling amount. 

Without then any actual necessity for the increase of officers of the Customs at the port of 
New York, how does the ease stand with our virtuous reform-rulers.'' — In 1838, these officers 
had l)een increased from MA to 414 in number, and their salaries had been increased even in a 
greater ratio, and at that period amounted to $409,602,32 cents, or nearly fourfolded, which was 
the exact amount Mr. Benton and Mr. Van Buren predicted would be the sum when the country 



BY A LABORING MAN. 33 

should be robbed of its liberties by some future President.* It is not without reason tliat ihcae 
B;iliiries hnve been increased in a s^reater deforce than the number of otKcers, a,s il is a fact well 
known that a lar^e assessment is now habitually made on every government otfieer in that elty, 
as well as elsewhere, to be used in brihinjr and purchusmj- vole.s for the e.\ecutive ; and thus 
assisting to corrupt and degrade the people [)reparatory to tiii'ir beiug surrendered as slaves into 
the hands of the Federal K.\ecutive. These Federal otlicers are the most prominent patriots at 
the polls, and so bold have they become, that a i'ew weeks since, a demand was formally made 
to the city authorities, retjuiring them to remove, without even assigning any cause, sotne in- 
dividuals from otlice olmo.xious to the party. This demand was signed by about MO pt^rsons in 
all, Forty-six of whom wire Federal Errrulire ojficers. This was llie precise mode the Jacobins 
commenced showiiiij their power in Paris immediately preceding the French revolution. ']"he 
powi'r of the President has in tiiis way so e.vtended itself that there is not a locul election in the 
most distant village in the Unicni, where tliese Federal olRcers are not the most cons|)iciiou9 
person:iges — and report regularly to their superiors the exact extent of Presidential inliuence, 
as displayed in the election of a pound keeper or the appointment of" a I log Reeve. (Jiir worliiy 
Chief Maifistrali', not content with empldynig this vast numlier of disinterested friends ot" Ihu 
people in the cliaritablc work of assisting in their election, has lately favored us with a new 
class of teachers, in the shape of travelling lecturers — among which a Mr. Rant(nil from Boston 
stands most conspicuous in the State of Rhode Island. In this charitable work Mr. Bancrofl, the 

* 'Til sliow liow Hfll .Mr. Van Biiron and .Mr. Bcntun unilerstooil tliu use tli.it nii^lit be made of llie pitroiiage of 
tlie I'rfsi'lont, aiil liow it iiiislit bn cxtiMidcU to tin- alxorliiiig of i\ll th'; [lowcrs of tbi; govoriiiiK-nt, and evoiituiilly 
le:id to a »u'>versioii of the lilicrties of tlio peopli-, the writrr will cull the iitti'iition of ilio reader to the cxtractii below 
— ciinlaiiied in a roi>ort of a coiniiiittee to tlio Sen ile of the United St..tes — and would ask all who penile Ihcni to 
enli- ivor to cxariiiiie the ficts candidly, and see if the same course e.xactly his not been pursued since the election 
of Andr.nv J.ickson to the I'residency, iia the Coinmilteo inform the Semite will be pursued by some future t^xccutive 
who seeks to enslave the ])euplc. 

FRO.M THE OFFICAL RECORDS. 

In the Senate ofthe United Sl.ites, May 4th, 182(5, Mr. Behton, from the select Committee to which wni; referred 
the propo<iliuii to inquire into the expediency of reducing the patronage of the executive governinciit of the United 
States, mode the following report. 

EXTRACT FROM THE SAID REPORT. 

"The Committee lielievc that they will be acting in the spirit of the constitution in laborinj to multiply the guards, 
and to stren^'then the l)arriers, against the possible abuse of power. If a coininunily could be imagined in wlii(di the 
power of governineiil should consist in the enactment of I iws — in such a stale the in .chine of government would 
c.irry oi its opc>riitioiH without jar or friction. Parties would be unknown, and the movements ofthe politic. il machino 
wonll but litile more ili~tuil> the p issions of men than they are dislnrbeil by the operations of I be grentliwa of tho 
tnuleriil world. Hut this is not the ca-se. The scene shilts from this imaginary legion, where laws eveciitc theni- 
gelves, to the theatre of real life, wherein they are executed by civil \ind niilit iry officers, by armies anil navies, by 
couits of justice, by the collection and disbursement of revenue, with all its trai i of salaries, jobs and contracts ; and 
in this aspect ofthe reality, we behold the working of patronaoe, and di.scover the reu^'on why so many st.ind ready, 
ill any country, and in all ages, to Hock to tho standard of powkr, wheresoever, and liy whomsoever, it may .le raised. 

" The patronage ofthe Feder.il governmunt at the beginning, was founded upona revenue of twoniilliuns of dollars.* 
It is now operating upiMi twenty two millions, and, within llie lifetime of many now living, must opi-rate upon lirty. 
The whole revonnft mu>t, in a few years, be wholly applieuble to sulijects of patron ig". — .\t present, about one half, 
■ay tea millions of ii, ^re apprupriatcil to the principal and interest of the public debt, which, from the nature of tho 
object, involves but littl ■ patron. ige. In the course of a lew ye irs, this debt, without great niisman igenient, niu<t he 
piid ofT. A short p'riod of peace, and a fjithrul ipplicilioii of t!ie si-.iking fund, must speeilily acroniplish th.it most 
desirable o'lject. Unless the revenue be tlw'n rediici-d, a work as diiHcuh in republics as in moii irchies, the patronage 
of tlio feder il government, great as it alre.nly is, niu<t, in the lapse of u few years, receive a v..st acession of strength. 
Th.; revenue itself will be don'ilail, an I i[Htc;ad of one half being applic ible to o'lj -cts of patron i-je, the whole will 
tak' that direction Thus the reduction of the public debt, and the increase of rcivenue, will multiply in a fourfold 
de:,'ree the number of persons in the service of the f.'dcral government, the quantity {>f publi : mimey in their hand*, 
and the number of olijects to whicb it is applicable ; but as each person employed will have a circle of gre iter or less 
di.iinetcr, of wliicb he is the centre and the soul — a circle composed of fi lends and rrlaliori", and of individuals 
eniployed by himself on public or on private account — the actu I iiK^rease of feder 1 power and patron ige by tho 
du;ili''ati(m of th e revenue, will be, not in tho aritbmi'tical ratio, but in geometrical progression — an increase almost 
beyoii I 111.' power of th' mind to cdculiteor to comprehend. 

" The Committee think it lighl to a'temiil to give an idea ofthe greatness of this power of patronage by referring to 
an example in a single city. They will take the city of New York, and a single lirani-h of tho federal patronage in 
that city : and to avoid mi.stake or error, will limit their reference to a work of unque-tion dil" an:hority upon this 
su'ij'ct — the ' Ulce Book ' of the Republic, which correspon Is with the ' Red Book ' or' monarchies, and will read 
from pages 41, 43, 4H, 41,4.'>, 4ii, of that growing little volume." 

fThe-i follows a list of names, commencing with Jcniaih in Thompson, Collector, salary 4,0)0 doll.irs — and ending 
with Tlioinas Brannan, porter, sulaiy 18J dollars, in number, all loU, 174, with an aggregate sahry of SH'^iO 2,39 
CClUs.] 

* THE REPORT THEN PROCEEDS. 

" .\ formidiblo list, indeed '. formidable in niimh'rs, and still more so from the vast amount of mon'-y in their bands. 
Tl e I'Mion of such a body of men, supposing them to be ;iiiim ited by one spirit, must be tremendous in an election ; 
B'l I 'h it they will he so animated, is a proposition too pi lin to need demonstralion. Power liver a in in's sitp.ibt, 
h s always been lielJ and admitted to bo power over bis wri.L.t The Presilent has ' power ' over the ' <np|Mirt ' of 
all tl.:»se oflirers ; and tboy again have ' power ' over the ' siip|>ort' of debtor merchants to the amount of ten niilliona 
of d.dl irs per .»nmum, aijil over the daily support of an iminense number of individiiils, prof'ssion il, inech iiiic il, and 
d '\ I .boring, to whom they cam anil wri.L exten l,or diny, a v..lu ilile priv;ite as well as public |>atronage, according to 
th I part which they shill act in state, as well as in federal, elections. Ktill this is only a branih, a mere prong of 
fi'il ral p tronage, in the city of New York. Trie same government has in the same city a branch ofthe United St tei 
B 1 ik, wielding a capit il of many million.i ; a I irge inili'arv, naval, and post-office est iblisbnient ; a Jndiiiary, with ila 
ap;i-o)ri iti! officers ; presses, which print the laws ami pii'dic advertisements, and a longlit of contractors and jobbers," 

[Tills Commrtfe consisted of THOMAS II. BK.NI'ON, MVRTI.N VAN BURKN, RicHtRu M. Johmsow, 
M 'ssrs. Macon, White, Findley, Dickorson, Hidmes, and Hayne, all friends of Gener.il Jack.soi>, except Mr. Hohiies.J 

* From the 4th of Mirch, '9!), to the 31st of De-em''er, '91, a period of almost three yeo'--, the whole amount of 
the revenue ofthe federal government was only $4,41(:<,yi2. 
f Federalist. 

4 



34 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

C'l'lk'ctor nt Boston, and Isaac Hill, of New Hampshire, it is said, are also engaged. Jt is said 
that Mr. Rantoul inlormed the people of South Kingston, tliat a dollar is as good as fifty lor an 
ox, provided all other things are in proportion, and that under the same circumstances a penny 
a day is as good as a dollar for a laborer — this doctrine being inculcated pieparatniy to the in- 
troduction of the boasted specie currency and Treasury inde|)endenl of the people. This is a 
very seductive but at the same time fallacious theory, as the history of mankind lias ever proved. 
In all civilized countries, as the writer has before stated, where the products of labor are lowest, 
there is the most suii'ering among the peo|)le ; for there will the pkice or labor be still 
Lower i.n proportion. As the principle that governs in this is of an exceeding subtle charac- 
ter, it can be much better illustrated in figures tlian in words, which the writer will proceed to 
do after a few prefatory remarks, and requests the close investigation of the subject from every 
farmer, mechanic, or laboring man, ol' every description, into whose hands this may chance to fail 
— as he believes it is the silent operation of this principle that has ever enslaved and 

IMPOVERISHED THE GREAT BODV OF MANKIND, AND RENDERED THE MANY SUBSERVIENT TO THE 
FEW IN all COUNTRIES, AND IN ALL AGES OF THE WORLD. 

It will be remembered by most readers, that the watchword of the Executive minions, has 
hitherto been, that the rich were robbing the poor. This cry is now changed, and, as will be 
perceived by the E.xtract from Mr. Buchanan's speech, preceding this communication, that they 
now insult the manufactureis of New England, whom they have hitherto sought to destroy, 
by calling on them to join and assist the administration in lessening the price of the labor of the 
Baine class of people they have hitherto accused them of robbing. 

It is fortunate that the leading members of the administration have been compelled by cir- 
cumstances to confess in part their real intentions — with regard to the introduction of their 
boasted Sub-Treasury. Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Walker, Mr. Buchanan, all in turn have declared in 
the Senate of the United States its effect will be to lessen the cost of production by lowering 
the price of labor. Mr. Calhoun emphatically calls on tile manufacturers of New England, to 
unite with the south in bringing about a reduction of the price of labor to a sufficient extent to 
enable them to compete with the manufacturers of Europe, in foreign markets. Mr. Walker 
declares that sugar can be raised in Cuba for one cent per pound, whereas the cost of slave 
labor in Louisiana and Mississippi is so great that they can scarcely afford the article for six cents 
per lb. ' Mr. Buchanan, in addition to the preceding quotation, in the same speech as published 
in the Globe, Ihe ojjicial government paper, further emphatically expresses himself as fol- 
lows : 

" On Friday hint, irhen I vmj wrTjtrclcilly addressed the Srnntr, I stated a jirincifle cf political er.vtiomy which I 
shall ni.in read frinn the bunk — (( ;.< tlii.-', 'that if you duvible the amou.nt or the necess.vry cibcui.atino 

WEDIUM IN ANV COUNTRY, YmU THEKEBV DOUBLE THE NOMI.NAL PRICE OF EVF.KY ARITCLE — IF, WHE^ THE CIR- 
CULATING MSDIUM IS FIFTY MILLIONS, AN ARTICLE SHOULD COST ONE DOLLAR, IT >VOUI.D COST TWO, IF, WIIHOUTANY 
INCREASE OF THE USES OF ACIBCVLATING MEDILM, THE l}UiNTITY SHOULD BE INCREASED TO ONE HUNDRED MIL- 
LIONS.' The same effect irvuhl be iirvduccd wkelJier the rircalutiiig medium were spcac, cr conreit.h't bank fiap r, iitiiigUd 
iritli specie. It is the INl'KEA.-^ED quantity of the medmni, not its character, that produces this effect. Of course I 
ieare vut irredermablc hank piipir.'^ 

Mr. Buchanan is among the most respectable, and also, next to Mr. Benton and Mr. Wright, 
is perhaps the most prominent leader of the administration in the Senate of tlie U. States. No 
one can doubt his authority to speak the sentiments of the party, at least as far as Messrs. Ken- 
dall, Benton, Blair, Si Co.,* see fit to intrust him with their secrets. But if any reader should 
doubt this, hear the government organ, the Globe. In commenting on Mr. Buchanan's speech, 
its Editor says — 

" TliiH oveLiiii;;'^ Glo!)o is earichei with Mr. IJ'.ichinia's fine refutalion of Mr. C'l:iy's set spnecli, to destroy tlie nd- 
Kiiiiistr.itioii, uiul to ri'esialili-ili !i luUioiiiil li:mk, and nil itx kindrol |!(dicv. We lic:ird Mr. Burhairjii lliroushimt 
its dtlivKry, willi iinnlhujed deliirhl, and we li.^lieve no SOUND 1)E \I()tJK.'\T will rise from ns i-ebusal without 
feflim; all his coNVicriONs in the ooodnkss of his cause confirmed." 

We here have it distinctly' avowed by Mr. Buchanan, and the doctrine f?eliberately endorsed 
by the Executive organ, the Globe, (the editor of which paper, Francis V. Blair, is so identified 
with the administration as to be in the habit of calling its adherents in both houses of (.^ongress 
his nil II,) that to double the quantity of the necessary circulating meditim in any country will 
also double the value of the products of labor, and consequently, by the same rule reversed, if 
you diminisli the circulating medium one half, you lessen the price of the products of labor one 
half — or in that same proportion, let the increase or decrease of the circulating medium be more 
or less. This principle is strictly true, and that circumstance alone makes it ajipear strange that 
it should ever liave been advanced by the leaders of the Executive party. 

The writer has before estimated the wliole value of the productive labor of the United States 
to amount to l.'>0(),()()0,000 dollars annually. It is this labor that gives value to the accumulated 
capital of the country, which was also estimated at 1000,000,000 of dollars annually ; but as the 
products of industry are much less at the present time in both value and amount than when the 
country was in a more prosperous condition, (as has been bi'fore staled,) from want of employ- 
ment not only as it regards tlie labor of the people, but also on account of much accumulated 
capital being unproductive, from the closing of manufactories, workshops, &c. iVc. &c., we will 
for this reason call the whole annual valui> of the products of the country ir)()(),000,()00 dollars 
only. The writer will remark that it is not necessary that either this or other estimated amounts 
used in these calculations shall be eiuclly correct, (as it is impossible the precise value of our 

* Isaac Hill, of Nrw llonipshire, and Silas W'liglit, of New Vork, In ing tlie two silent pnrtncrs of this company. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 35 

products, &c. can be arrived at,) as just in the same proportion will tiic efiects produced be, let 
the real amounts be what lliey niuy. 

We will call the wiiole Bunking- (Capital of the United States at the present time 5(10,000,000 
of dollars, and the whole amount of their notes issued at 100,000,000 dollars — we will also call 
the whole amount of specie in the United States 100,000,0(10 dollars, for the sake of round num- 
bers — althouifh the quantity now in tiie country is not prc>bal)ly over two thirds of that amount. 
Tiiis makes an aggregated of paper and specie circtdating nied.um amounting to I20U,000,(/(jO of 
dollars. 

The present average rate of interest is not less, as all will admit, tiian G per cent, pi^r annum. 
The Banks have loaned out their whole capital, say .'jOO,000,000 of dollars, which at per cent. 
is :50,000,0()0 dollars ; they have also loaned 100,000,000 dollars of their notes or "Bank rags," 
(as .Air. Van Buren and his friends call them,) which at G per cent, amounts to (),()00,000 of dol- 
lars, making an aggregate interest of ;'G,00(),000 of dollars annually, to be paid by the products 
of" labor in some shape or other There is no getting awaj- from this, deceive ourselves as wo 
may — this beinir a tax which the ])ro(lucts ot' labor iin/.st jjiiij for the use of capital, labor 
alone bi'inn- the source of all wealth, without which capital itself becomes useless and pro- 
duces notlnng. We will now se<; what jiroporlion of the productive labor of the country it will 
require to pay this interest, to find which divide the value of the whole annual amount of pro- 
ductive labor by the interest due; the Banks. 

liitcresl dim AnniLnl amcuni of 

3(5,(W"()O0) loOd'oOO,()6T) ( 41 and over. 

Thus under the "false system " of Banks and " Bank rags," one forty-first part of the whole 
product of the |)eople's labor is expended in paj'ing the interest due the '■• arist^Ctatic" stock- 
holders of the Banks. 

We will now compel these Banks, by the operations of a Sub-Treasury, to keep their " rag 
promises to pay " at liome — by paying out, in lieu of them, what snecie they have in their vaults ; 
and by receiving the balance in payment of dues from their debtors. The stockholders o(" these 
Banks will then iiave loaned to tin; community their capital stock < «,/y, amounting to .'300,000,0n() 
dollars. The writer believes no one will contend that the rale of interest irill he icsseiicd \>y this 
opi'ration. We will therefore call the rate of interest the same as before, G per cent., which 
juakes tiie sum to be annually paid t!ie Bunks by the products of labor, j||i3i),(!00,(i00. 

The circulating medium of the wIkjIo country will now be lessened one ii.ilf; consequently the 
products of labor will be diminished one half in value, as Mr. Buchanan states. 

We nnist then divide !i<!750,000,000, the sum the product of labor will now ainount to annually. 
by the thirty millions dollars for intert'st due the Banks annually. 

Auiiiml ;im'l 

(say) 3o',('ioo',000 ) 750,OOo"()00 ( 25 

These " aristocratic " Bank stockholders, it seems, instead of absorbing one forty-first i)art of 
the products of industry as bef()re, now g't one ttrtnlij-fiflh ji/rif^ and likewise are saved the 
expense of R.\(iS, (which are both scarce and dear in this country — but very cheap and plrutij 
in specie countries, as the writer can bear witness,) to manufacture into bills, and also the ex- 
pense of a great part of the officers they have hitherto paid, — as these moneyed Instiiu'.ions will 
then be reducn-d simply to Baidcs of discouiit and deposit — the Beau Ideals of Mr. Benton and 
Mr. Van Buren. 

We will again suppose the specie circulating medium to be les=;ened one halt', wh'ch would be 
probably nearer the amount that would fall to ihe share of the United States when the balances 
are properly adjusted with ot.ier nitions. This would again reduce the value of the products of 
labor one half, or to ■.Vi-'),Jl)0.0(;i) dollar--, which su.n divide by the sum of the interest annually 
due tiic stocki\olders of the Banks as befjre — 

lii'>-r'>>c 'liie Aniiiiil rtinniiiit 

(say) 30,'^.0fij'(i00 ) 3^^'o'(r0,<'>00 ( 10 and over. 
These stockholders, it now si-ei is. receive nearly one tenth of the products of the people's labor 

On the oti'.er hand, we will n iw suppose that instead of the one hundred millions, the Banks 
should issue ;V :0,OJO,000 dollars of llieir '• rag pr >inises to pay " — (not that the writer would ap- 
prove of such a course in the present slat*' of society, as he considers a medium in all thltiirs best.) 
— this added to their c:ii)ital st ck a;;inunts to 800.0(10,000 dollars, which at G per cent, interest is 
48,0:'0.0l)0 dollars, arinu dly. The c rcul ting m-'dium being now double what it was in the first 
calculation. — the products of labor are of course doubled in value by Mr. Buchanans own show- 
ins, which is correct. 

The !)roduct of labor now :imounts to the sum of 3000,000,000 dollars, which divide by Die 
interest 48,000,000. 

Ii»'-r^«l '\w\ Aninml .imniiut 

Hi- Built. of pr<i!i,c«,i( lali,ir. 

(say) 48,000,000 ) 3000,000,000 ( G2 
These Bank monsters thus receive one sixty-second part, or the products of one day's labor of the 
people in ()2 — whereas they before receivfd the ))rodiicts of one day's labor of the people In f)rty- 
one, and where th.'y would receive in case they issued no •' rag'money " at all. the product of 
one day's labor in ten — as has been stated — thus showing that^so far "from robbing the furnur 



36 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

and laborer by issuinor their own bills as a circulating medium, the Banks in fact get but about 
one fourth to one sixth part of the products of labor they would receive were they to issue no 
rag money whatever. Thus proving that so far from these institutions being calculated to con- 
centrate the products of labor into tiie iiands of the FEW, their tendency is clearly to diffuse it 
into the hands of the MANY, and to leave a greater share with those who have produced it, to 
whom it rightly belongs. 

But these Banks do not probably hold one liaJf of the debts of the country that draw interest, 
there being immense amounts of mortgages and notes of hand held by individuals ; and Mr. Van 
Buren likewise says, (mid Mr. Van Burcn, being Prcsidtnt, can't /««,j that we owe to foreign na- 
tions alone 5i()0,0()0,flOO of dollars ; but as the writer has souglit to keep within bounds in all Ids 
statements, we will call this sum but one half of Mr. Van Burcn's est mate, and the whole aggre- 
gate amount of the sum d\ie from the debtor to the creditor part of the community, will not then 
probably amount to less than from 1000 to 1^00,000,000 of dollars — the interest of which, amount- 
ing to (jO,000,000 dollars annually, at least, is to be paid by the products of labor in some siiapc 
or other. 

Now b}' the same rules being applied as before, we shall find that this interest will absorb, 
when the Banks issue 300,000,000 dollars of "rag bills," the product of one day's work of the 
people in fifty. 

When the Banks issue 100,009,000 dollars in "Bank rags" only, it will absorb the products of 
one day's work of the people in twinty-fire! 

When the Banks issue no bills whatever, and the specie circulation in the country amounts 
to 100,000,(X)0 dollars, it will absorb the products of about one day's work of the people in 

TWELVE ! ! 

And when the specie circulation is reduced to fifty millions, it will absorb one day's work of 
the people in SIX ! ! ! — and in that precise ratio, as the circulating medium is increased or dimin- 
ished, more or less. 

The foregoing calculations niay not be readily comprehended by some of the laboring portion 
of the community, from the circumstance that their occupations have not been of a nature to 
familiarize them with figures on so large a scale. If this portion of the community will, how- 
ever, patiently investigate the principles involved in these calculations, and their results, they 
will soon understand how it is (as the writer has before stated,) that a SPECIE currency has 
ever been the MOST POWERFUL engine in the hands of DESPOTS and TYRANTS, to 
ENSLAVE MANKIND. It is the secret but inevitable operation of the principle just illus- 
trated, that has brought the great mass of the people in all the nations of Europe to their present 
degraded state, reducing the great body of the productive classes to the extreme of poverty ; and 
coarrntratin(r the wealth of the many into the hands of the fkw — every year adding more and 
more to the store of the wealthy, and impoverishing the poor in the same degree, until the labor- 
ing classes are brought down to a state in which they can barely subsist, and then, and not utitil 
then, the interest of the overgrown specie capitalists falls, tlirough the inevitable laws of neces- 
sitj', to a point that will leave in the hands of the laboring poor enough only of the bran and 
refuse of their hard earnings, barely to support their miserable existence. This the writer has 
been an eye-witness of in more than one of the European countries which Mr. Van Buren ha3 
selected as patterns for our imitation, of which more may be said hereafter. 

Mr. Calhoun not long since said, that it was not best or safe that the people of the United 
States should be made acquainted with the corruption of the present administration, and it has 
been the belief of the writer for some years, that were the great body of the people of this coun- 
try fully aware of the deep and damnable schemes in progress for their destruction, they would 
not only drive the present administration from power, but expel the-n the country they have so 
basely betrayed. 

If it should be asked what interest the federal executive can luivi^ in thus beggaring the pro- 
ductive classes of this country, and reducing the price of their labor to that of the miserable serfs 
of Europe, the writer, referring to what has already been said on the increasing influence of 
executive officers, will farther answer, that all history and experience go to prove, that the 
salaries of government officers universally increase, rnihcr than dimini.vh, as the people of a conn- 
try become impoverished ; and further, that by the rule advanced by Mr. Buchanan, if the price 
of the products of labor is reduced, just in that proportion the value of money is increased, and 
of course those who derive their incomes from fixed salaries, reaj) the same advantages from the 
fall of the products of labor as if their salaries were actually increased in the same proportion. 
For instance — we will call the expenses of the federal government for the present year. 40,000,000 
dollars, and the products of the labor of the i>eople will amount, as before stated, to 1500,000,000 
dollars. Divide 

Expciisi-Bor Proiliictaof 

lM,v.rMTii"iil, l,l..ir. 

40,()0(),000 ) 1500,000,000 ( 37, and it thus requires one thirty-seventh part of the products 
of labor f()r the sup[)ort of government. 

We will now lessen the circulation one half, and as before stated by Mr. Buchanan, the prod- 
ucts of labor are reduced in price one half, or to 750,000,000 dollars; while the salaries will 
undoubtedly remain as high as Uiey now are. 

Divide 

Envnji » of Pmiliicls of 

(iuvrni . < HI. lat>o--. 

40,000,000 ) 7.^)0,000,000 ( 18, and we find it now requires one eighteenth part of the product* 
of labor to support governmept. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 87 

Again, reduce the circulatinjr niedium one half, and the price of the producta of labor falls to 
375,UUO,000 dollars, as coniesseci by Mr. Buchanan, which divide by 

EipenBes of Pmliictsi of 

Goveriinieii(. l;iltt>r. 

40,000,000 ) 375,000,000 ( — and it requires ONE NINTH part of the products of the 
PEOPLES LABOR to SUPPORT GOVERNMENT! 

Tlius showing that with a circulation of iiUOjOOOjOOO dollars, the expenses of the federal gov- 
ernment absorb one. thirli/sircntli part of the products of industry, which at their present prices, 
amount to 40,0(»0,()()0 dollars. 

Siioiild our Bank jKiper currency be expelled, and the circulating niedium be reduced to 
]()(), 0(10, 000 dollars of specie, it will require about o.nk f.ightek.nth part of the products ol' the 
labor of the country to support government, or at the present valuation, rtO mii.i.io.ns dih.i.ars! ! 

And in case the circulating medium should again be brought down one half, onk ninth part 
of the annual products of industry, will be tiliynrbid by THE GOVERNMENT, which at present 
prices is equal to lG;i,000,000 of dollars, thus EOURP'OLDING tiie salaries of the E.xecutive 
officers, whose Tiumlurn have already been nearly F(.)URFOLl)EI), as has been siiown by the 
foregoinir extracts from Mr. Benton's report. This will be, in the langu.'ige of Mli. VAN BU- 
REN aifd MR. BENTON, increasing the E.xecutive power in a "GEOMETRICAL PRO- 
GRESSION '" with a rni^cancc indeed. 

If the President is now able to cf)ntrol the elections through his Federal officers, which is pre- 
cisely what Mr. Benton and Mr. Van Buren said could and WOUJjD be done,* ichat can he, not 
do, when, instead of 40,000,01)0 dullars being placed in his hands, that sum is increased to 
100,000,000 dollars .' It will be at once perceived that the result is not varied in the least, 
whether the price is added on in money, or a deduction equivalent to it be made from the |)rice of 
the products the money is expended in purchasing. 

If to this sum be added all the expenses of state and municipal government, and also the 
interest paid by the debtor portion of the community to the creditor, as before stated, all who will 
investigate the suljject, must inevitably see little would soon be left in the hands of tiie pro- 
ducing classes. The interest ])ai(l by the debtor portion of the community would, a great part 
of it, be added to the principal of the office-holders and capitalists of the country, from the cir- 
cumstance that a much less amount in money would be required for their support in a contracted 
state of the currency, than when expanded, as betbre shown ; and it is believed that no man is 
so ignorant, as not to be aware of the utter impossibility of discharging the principal of the 
debt, under the same circumstances. On the contrary, the effi'cl of contracting the currency to 
any extent at |)reseut, will be to ruin entirely a great proportion of those in debt, and thus 
throw their property into the hands of the wealtiiy, or tiie office-holding aris'ocracy. 

To show the insidious, but sure workings of this principle on a smaller scale, we will suppose 
a man to possess '20,000 dollars in bonds and mortgages, which, at 6 per cent., gives him an 
interest of ]2il0 dollars each year. Thi.s, at the present prices of labor and its products, we will 
suppose to barely support his family in idleness. We will call the price of labor and board one 
dollar per day; the interest of his money then purchases I'JOO days' labor. 

We will now suppose the circulating medium reduced one half, — as Mr. Buchanan says the 
products of labor will then be reduced one half in value — and six hiindred dollars will tlien 
support his family in idleness. Should labor fall only one half, (which will, however, inevitably 
fall more than that ])roportion, as will be shown hereafter,) it will then require but .s-x Imndred 
dollars to purcliase I'JOil days' lab()r. Tiie remaining six hundred dollars will now be added to 
the principal, which will then go on increasing in amount from year to year, at the expense of 
the laboring and producing classes, (whether they are in debt or not.) of every description, from 
the farmer and mechanic to the broken-spirited widow, who toils with her needle from the dawn 
of day until midnight by the couch of her sick child, which is, perhajis, dying for the want of 
the most ordinary comforts of life. But just in proportion as the reward of labor falls, Mr. Van 

* WImt iMr. Rcnton iiml Mr. Viin Biirtn one- lli'in^ld of siioli a [lowor as tliis iriny pcrliiips bii gatlierod from the 
following extract from tlic samo report before (|iiote(l. It will lie remembered thai J. ft. Adams was tlion President, 
and it would seem from tlie langiiiigo of the Report, that lliey feared he would use the aunie means to perpetuate his 
power, thai ha< been since adopted, by themselves, to a greater extent than they then predicted. 

" The whole of this grent power will centre in the president. Tlio king of Englaml is tho ' fountain of honor ; ' the 
Pre-iilent of the United Sr^tates is the source of patronage. He presiilns over the entire system of federal nppoinlmpnt«, 
jobs, and contra-ts. ile has ' power ' over the ' support' of the individuils who administer the system. — He maket 
and nnnakfs them. He chooses from the circle of his friends and supporters, and may dismiss them, and, upon all the 
principles of bun>an action, irill dismiss them, as often iis they disiippoint his expectations. His spirit will animate 
their actions in all the elections to state, and foleral offices. ThiTe may lie exceptions, Init the truth of a general lule 
is proved by the exception. The intended check and control of lhescn:ite, without new constitutional or statutory 
provisions, will cease to op"r ;te. Piilronage will penetrate this body, subdue its copacity of resist.ince, chain it to 
tb" car of power, and en ibb' the pnsident to rule as rasili/, anti much more securely with, than without, the nominal 
cbec'« of the senate. If the presidint was himself the otTiccr of the people, electeil by them, and responsilde to them, 
thera would he /«.♦.• danger from Ibis concenlratinn of mII power in his bund ; but it is the business of stitesmen lo act 
upon things as they are, nnd not as they wonlil wish them to be. We must then look forwiird lo the time when the 
public revenue will be douhled ; when the civil and military officers of the federal government will bo (Hiadbuplf.d ; 
when its influence over individuals will be multiplieil to an indefinite extent ; when the noniiimtion by the presirlent 
can carry ami tmin through the Sen ile, anil bis recommendation can carry any wtasurt through the two houses of Con- 
gress ; when the principle of pul)lic action will l>e open and avowed, the prrMileat tranU my vvie, and I irani his pulrnn- 
a«e ; lioill VOTE as he wishes, nnd he will give m' the nffie.e I irUh fur. What will this be but the government of on* 
man? and whil is the government oditie man hut a mnnarchiil Names ;ire iiutbing. — The nature of a thing is in ill 
euhstance, and ihe name soon accommodites itself lo the substance. The first Roman emperor was styled emperor of 
the repiihlir, nnd the last French emperor took tho same title ; and their re8|>ectivc countries were just ua osseotially 
vwnarchical before us after the assumption of these titles." 



38 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Buren's salary will be increased, and he will be able to add, in imitation of the crowned 
princes of Europe, an empty carriage of state to his retinue, as lie exliibits himself in his present 
English curridge and four, attended by his imported outriders, dressed in tlieir splendid liveries, 
the badgKs of sLivtrtj ; thus, already by his senseless parade, evincinu- not only Jus love for the 
"dear ])eople," but hkewise his resjiect fur tiie simplicity of our republican habits and institu- 
tions. In tliis way, also, by rendering the I'resident of the United States contemptible in the 
eyes of tiie more consistent aristcciacy of Europe, whom he glories in imitating, he brings dis- 
grace on his country abroad, and, at tlie same time, sets an example of folly and extravagance 
before his weaker brethren at home. 

But to return ; we will suppose that instead of the circuhiting medium being reduced one half, 
it is doubled in amount, a.s before stated, to say 400.()U(),(.(,(J dollars; the products of labor are 
now doubled in price, while the annual interest of the 'H ,1,1)0 dollars ren.ains 121 dolliirs, the 
same as before. This will now purchase, by the rule betore applied, but the products of (jdO 
days' labor nuly, being but one half the amount consumed by the capitalist's i'amily lonnerly, as 
has been before shown. So far from being now able to add one half of his income yearly to his 
capital, as in the contracted state of the currency, he in fact is compelled either to become a 
producer himself, or subsist his family on one lialf of the pruductg oi' otiicrs' labor he formerly 
did. The results here .sliuun are — 

That when the caculatmg medium amounts to 50,000,000 dollars, the annual interest of 
20,OOJ dollars, at 6 per cent., wtll purchise the products of 4800 days' labor; or it requires the 
constant labor of about s xletn persons to pay the annual interest of the capitalist! 

When the circulating medium amounts to 100,000,000 dollars, the annual interest of 20,000 
dollars, at G per cent., will purchase the products of 2400 days' labor; or it requires the constant 
labor of about eight persons to pay the annual interest of the capitalist! ! 

Wiieii the circulating medium amounts to 200,0i;0,000 dollars, the annual interest of 20,000 
dollars, at per cent., will purchase the products of 1200 days' labor ; or it requires tiie constant 
labor of about fyiir persons to pay the annual interest of the capitalist! ! ! 

When the circulating medium amounts to 400,000,000 dollars, the annual interest of 20,000 
dollars, at G per cent., will purchase the products of 000 days' labor; or it requires the constant 
labor of ubuul. TWO PERSONS only, to pay the interest of the capitalist! ! ! ! 

From tlie foregoing it will be readily perceived, that the character of an cxjmndfd currency is 
to diffuse the products of industry am^ng the jNIANY^, in the same proportion, as it is the char- 
acter of a contrucleil. currency to cimcciUiulc the property of the country, and the products of 
labor, into the hands oi' the FEW ; and the present and past history of bluropean countries goes 
to prove the truth of this principle, as may be more fully illustrated hereafter. It will also be 
seen, that, in the contracted state of the currency, it matters not how xiiiali the sum of the debt 
may be, that is due from the debtor to the creditor class of the community in the commiuccmcid, 
as, by the inevitable operations of this principle, it will go on increasing in a greater and greater 
ratio, until nearly the whole property and products of the industrious classes will be eventually 
swallowed up, as has been before slated. 

On the other hand, it will be perceived that, in case a people were sufficiently virtuous and 
enlightened to sustain a highly expanded currency, it would matter but little how large the debt 
iniglit be from the debtor to the creditor class of the community in the conimcucctiii/il, as by the 
diffusive character of the currency, the idlers property would soon be caliau.slcd, and the prod-__ 
ucts of labor be distributed, as they should in justice be, and shared in the precise proportion 
each individual has contributed towards their production, or by their exertions have administered 
to the comforts and well being of mankind. The misfortune is, that while the prevalence of 
vice and ignorance in the world has afforded opportunities to prove one cflrcme of this principle, 
in a tliouxand instances, the necessary virtue and intelligenci' of a whole community, sutii- 
cient to prove the truth of the opposite to any extent, has occurred bat once in the history of 
mankind ; and even that peojile are about to fail in proving its full benefits, from the lack of 
Buliicient stability to withstand the intoxication occasioned by the excess of prosperity, produced 
by only the partial developments of its good. 

The writer has before stated, that in all civilized countries, as the products of labor fell in 
price, the /-(ior/z^/ of labor fell in a still greater proportion. He will now proceed to illustrate 
this seeminij paradox. In all civilized countries, there is in use some species of circulating 
medium, the value of which, as a standard of exchange, is established by law ; and in all civilized 
countries there are the two classes, creditors and debtors. 

We will suppose that the fixed amount of interest to be paid by the debtor to the creditor class 
of the community in the United Statt's, together with their proportion of the expenses of gov- 
ernment,* should amount to 100,000,000 dollars annually ; at the same time, the circulating 

* It will [iro'intity be piTceivcd nt once by most readers, iliiit the roliitivo proportion of that part of the capital of a 
country which in loaned (inl on interest, will pay townnl^ the expenses of ?iivernincnt, in ciise of eijiial taxation, is in 
the proporliiiii its aimiiiil inlrrrsl. 'ii'iirfl lotho wholr' sum of tlie ainnial priidnct.-i of lihor and the hil inre of iicciiniul.itcd 
capital i(iiii')ini;d, nfl r dcilie tin^ the nnioiint of interest paid hv the proiln-t-" of hi'ini. The whole annuil products of 
labor hiin;; l.'i'lO.OO ),lin:» dcdtir^, and the whole annual interest pnid hein;' f;n,000,nOO dollars, the proportion is there- 
fore as t)!),M01),ll')() is to l-14!),n;)l),OI)n didl irs — or the produ'^ts of l.ihor, in connection with the fi.vcd ciipilal, )iays about 
24-251 lis of the taxes for the support (d'sovernme'it — or just in this proportion as the inle.reiit of the capital loaned and 
value if tlie. prmhirU of labor, may he ir to each otlwr. 

The circiihitinj niediuni of nnv country adds nnthing directly to the productive capitnl of the country, vnlrsx nold to a 
fore rii peoph', any more thin the y;iril--lick of the shopkeeper atlds to the qinntily of his stock ofKooils — they being 
boih uslaldished by l.iw as nieusures — the one mea.suring the value of a piece of broadcloth, the other its length — and 



BY A LABORING MAN. 39 

modimn amounts to 230,000,000 dollars, as bef.tre stated; the products of the labor of the 
country wc will value, as before, at l.')i)i),()0i),01IJ dollars annually; the whole population of the 
United States at I. "),()( )0, 00( ) ; coiiseqiiently, if the productive classes received the icholi: product 
of their labor as its reward, without deduction, it would ajnouul, on an average, to lUO dollars 
each person for a year's work and board. But as there is nothiiiir to be procurt^d necessary to 
supply the animal wants of man, but by the e.xertion of more or less labor, the iplinlc interest, 
and a ecrii lariri; proportion of the expenses of government, must first be deducted from tho 
value of the airirregate product of labor, and tho bu'uiicc left will be its whole reward. 'J'hus, say 
$l.'>',li),l)()i),l)i).) wiiole aiiiount of products, 

100,OOl),OOU interest, and expenses of government. 

1400.000,000 dollars li'fl as the jw/n^f^ of labor ; which divide by the whole population of the 
United Stales, and the proceeds will give the average value of products received by each 
inilividual. 

Populniion. Rfwarl of UU,t. 

(say) 1 5,000,000 ) 1 400.00 J.OOO 

9'^ d )11 irs X\ cents is the reward (or that same proportion of its 
products) of each person's labor in this state ot' tiie currency. 

We will now suppose, as before, th.it all the •■ Bmk rai>s " are taken out of circulation, and 
the 100,0l)l),0QU of specie remains the only medium of" exchange. Tlie circulation is now 
rediici'd one half, and consequently the products of labor are reduced oik; half in |irice, while 
tiie annual interest to be paid remains the same, as also will most probably be the expenses of 
government; we then have 
liToO, 000,000 value of products of labor, 

100,000,000 interest, and expenses of government. 

^•i-JO,0;)0,0(tl) whole reward of labor; whish a:f lin dividi; by the whole popMlation of the United 
btates, and the product will be what each individual's average share will amount to. 

Whule n-«Mr.l 
Popiil.tinii. i.f liLor. 3 CIS. 

(say) l."j.000.003)(i50,00'J,00')(4.{ 33 

Thus, while the price of the product of labor is reduc(>d one half, as Mr. Buchanan states, the 
rtxi'scs of li':).n' arc redacL'd cjiiji^ierably ia:)ra thin one half, being in the proportion of ;§oO 
to $43 33 cents. 

In cases the circulating medium is again reduced one half, or to 50,000,000 dollars in specie, 
the whole value of the products of labor will amount to 

37.'>,O00,000 dollars 
From which deduct 100,000,00!) interest, and expense of government. 

27r),000,000 whole reward of labor; which again divide by the whole 
population, and the product is the share each individual will receive by average. 

Whole pro-Uict 
Pop.il^.lii.n. oflihor. $ CIS. 

(say) 15,000 ,000 ) 1275,000,000 ( 16 33 

Thus again s'.iowing that, while the price of the products of industry is lessened one half in 
value, the wages of the laborer have fallen in a still greater j)roportion, beinf as ,*;25 is to 
$ld 33 cents. 

It is true the whole 15,000,000 of the people do not all labor, but it will be remembered that 
these estimates of the value of labor, are based on an average of a family of seven persons of 
dilfi-reiit se.ves and ages. Tliis valuation also includes the labor of practical farmers, maniifiic- 
turers, *fcc. »fcc., and even capitalists are often laborers or producers. The results shown by the 
above illustrations are — 

Tiiiit when the circulating medium or currency amounts to $200,000,000, each hihnrer works 
for the sup()ort of government, and the use of c:ipl!al, about twrnf.ij-onr. dnys out, iif ench yrtir .' 

When the circulating medium is reduced to 100,000,000 dollars, ettr/t lahorrr works for the 
BUp;>')rt of government, and the use of capital, about tlirtij-four daijs out of each year ! ! 

Wh^'n the circulating medium is reduced to 50,000,000 dollars, each laborer works for the sup- 
port of government, and the use of capital, about EKiHTY DAYS out of each ije.ar ! ! I 

Or, just in that proportion, let the circulating medium of the country expand or contract more 
or less — of course this rule does not apply to sudden and violent fluctuations. — These may be 

l)Otli 'leiiu' ei|imlly ii'^coss iry in llio traiHiiclioii i>l' liii-iiii"-s, while a currency ol' [iiipcr, or i yur<l -stiLk of uooil, |>ro- 
vidi- 1 tliey :ir(! tiui! in tlitir characters, are as u-scfui as if both were of gold. But if a slio;)ke('(ior lia I all th< y ird- 
8tic';s i;i ihp world in his possession, or a nation hid all llie specie, the useful stock of the pro<lncts- of labor vnM not 
be iiicre ise I a fr iciion thereby — uiiles-i the sliopkeei)er sold his yard-sticks, or the nation suJd its bpecie w ut/ter na- 
tiviif!, ill exchange for articles of consumption. 

Labor, either pn.'<t or prisrnt, is the great and true capitiil of a country. One acre of land cultivat.i'd '•y the I ibor of 
man, is worth more th.'in ono thousand acres in a wilderness state. — ft is true the wil lerne^s n>;iv produce a orns or 
bl ic';b rrie^, but even then it requiros labor to gather them. The ncirest approach to any thing ."leing ttC'iuired with- 
out 1 1'lor, tli:it the writer has ever seen any uccount of, was perhaps in the cuso (ifmemory serves' of Thomson, th« 
Hritiili poet, who ono morning was observed with his hands in his pockets, endeavoring to ent anappl • as it hiing oi 
the tree — but it is doubtful whetiier more labjr of his muscles was nutroallj expended than woiU liavo been had ha 
first reiicheil forth his lumil and picked the d:ingling fruit. 

'J'he acr.iim ilntinii of jxi^t latiur is the rirk man's capital. 

Tb ■ irrs'iit ability tolubor is the jinor man'.i cap<t»l. 

Th' iiUrr-st, rrtnt<, ot profits of the rich man's c ipit il, is iia prodnct. 

The 700 res of t lie poor ni in, is the iiUrresl oi product of hii r.apUiil. 

The rich m m's cnpiltl and the poor man's daily labor combined, produce all the nciossaries, comforts, ond luxuries of 
life, or in otlier words, the wealth ok nations. 



40 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

prerentcd to any injurious extent by wise legislation, which was fully proved in the United 
States previous to Andrew Jackson's elevation to the presidency. — And that tliey may also be 
caused by bad legislation, there can be no doubt of in the mind of any huticsl man who is 
thorouo/iiii acquaiiUed with the nature of credit and banking — and who has watched the prog- 
ress of events from the time the deposits were removed, in lrf;j3, by General Jackson, to the 
present day. 

It will be observed that the interest of money has been called the same, in the foregoing cal- 
culations, in all states of the currency. It is, however, well known to all, that in a fow/mrted 
state of the currency, interest increases in its rate, and diminishes in a more txpandtd state of the 
currency ; which if taken into consideration, would make the results shown still more striking. 
There has likewise been no allowance made for the fact, that a contracted currency would ne- 
cessarily be entirely metallic. Whereas the same amount of a sound paper currency, will prob- 
ably effect twice or thrice the amount of e.Kchanges in the same time that the same sum in specie 
will — as may be more fully shown hereafter. 

To show how utterly impossible it has ever been for a poor man to rise by his own honest ex- 
ertions, in a country where the exchanges have been made in a contracted currency, the writer 
will state that he has seen Churches or Cathedrals in England that were built by laborers at one 
penny or two rents a day. The specie of the country was then mostly in the hands of the King 
and nobility, with the e.xception of what was possessed by usurers, who obtained from 20 to 50 
per cent, per annum for its use. Hume, the British historian, says, that the first law made fixing 
the legal interest of money in England was in tlie reign of Henry the Eighth, in the year 154(5 
— the rate allowed by law was 10 per cent, per annum. Until the reign ol' Queen Elizabeth, in 
1558, English princes had to resort to Antwerp and other German cities, for loans ; and their 
credit was so low, that besides paying the high interest of 10 or 1<J per cent., they were obliged 
to get the city of London to join in the security. Notwithstanding the great quantities of silver 
and u-old imported into Europe after the conquest of Mexico and Peru, by Cortes and Pizarro, 
interest of money in England continued at ten per cent, until after the reign of James the First, 
who ascended the throne in 1G03, and in 1G24 interest of money was fixed at eight per cent, per 
annum. 

Hallam, (a highly approved author.) speaking of the state of Europe during the middle ages, 
says — 

" It is not easy to determine the average rate of profit, but we know tliat tlie interest of monoy wa.s exceeilingly 
hi^li (luring the luiJdle ages. At Veiona in ia-2d, it wa.; fixed l)y law ul 19.^ per cent. ; at Modena in 1270, it seems to 
iid^ve been as high as twenty per cent. The Republic of Genoa, towards the end of the fourteentii century, when Italy 
had grown wealthy, paid only from seven to ten per cent, to her creditors ; but in I'V.iiice and Enghmd, l)iu rate was far 
more oppressive. An ordinance of Philipthc Fair (King of France) in 1311, allows twentyper cent, after llie first year 
of the loan. Under Henry the Third, (of Engl ind,) according to M.itlhew Paris, the debtor paid len per cent, every Iwa 
moiUlL-i, but this is absolutely incredible as a general piactice." 

At the time labor was one penny (or two cents) a day, interest was probably not less than 
thirty per cent, per annum — but we will at present suppose it only ten per cent. — A capitalist, 
then, having 500 dollars (about 100 pounds sterling) would then receive fifty dollars annually for 
its use. The yearly wages of a laboring man, allowing him to work 300 days in each year, at 
two cents per day, would amount to S'X dollars — consequently it would require the constant 
work of more than eight men to pay the annual interest of 500 dollars in those days — and at the 
end of the year they would have to commence the same routine again. Under the burdens im- 
posed upon the laboring man by the " False system " of Mr. Van Buren, the wages of one day 
laborer in this country, will pay the whole yearly interest of .500 dollars (even at the rate of Icn 
per c.r.n'.) in less than ninety days — whereas it would formerly have taken the labor of 35 men 
the same time to have paid it. 

But the real fact then was, as stated, that the interest of money was at least 30 per cent, per 
annum, and it would in those blessed times have required the constant labor of about 25 stout 
men to keep pace with the interest of 500 dollars only. — The power of levying taxes was vested 
in the Kinsr, Nobles, and Barons, which being collected at the point of the bayonet, soon con- 
centrated all the property and lands of the people into their hands — thus going to prove that a 
contracted specie currency, lias ever been the most powerful engine in the hands of despots and 
tyrants tt) enslave mankind. 

England in these times, with the same soil and natural advantages as at present, (but when 
Blinks, Credit, and manufactories were unknown,) sustained a population of only about 4,000,000, 
Uie (Treat body of whom were clothed in sheep skins and miserably fed. 

The wretched people of thatdny, driven desperate by oppression, occasionally rebelled against 
theii tyrants, but were unable to obtain the most trifling amelioration of their condition only, by 
lb-' sbvdding of oceans of blood, in contending with the minions of power, subsisting on the 

f>riiduct!, (if their own (the peoples) labor — and answering in character to many of the office- 
11)1. lers of tVe present day in the United States. — England, with her present " false system " of 
Credit, Banks, and home labor protection — her people laboring, as they undoubtedly are, under 
many wrongs, and burdenc-d with an enormous public debt — (mostly contracted in the defend- 
ing lhcinselv(s and Europe against the ambition of Napoleon) — is now able to support in com- 
piritive comfort a population of more than three times its former amount, while the government 
IS ahnost entirt'iy controlled by the moral power of the people, — and the voice of the meanest 
oppressed subjec is made to be heard and listened to in both House.s of her parliament and in 
the p;ilace of her C^ueen. 

To prove that priws will occasionally fluctuate under other systems, as well as our own " false 
system " of " credit," " Banks and rags," the writer will call the attention of the reader to the 



BY A LABORING MAN. 



41 



following extracts from Wade's " History of the Middle and Working Classes," which also goes to 
provf wtial lio has bft'ore asserted, tliat tlie wages of labor always fall in a greater proportion than 
the price of its products. Wade says — 

" While llie people were in a state ol'sluvery, it may be readily conjectured, flmt their diet wouM lie the mere ofTiil 
anil relume ol'thcir niuaters ; and no more of it Ilian wjs nece.ssuty to enabli' theiii In support their daily toil. At Ihis 
period, tlie food ot'laliorers co!i<isted prineipaljy ortisli,cliiclly herrings, iinil a small quantity of bread anil hucr. Mut- 
ton and cheese were consideroil arliiles of lu.xury, wliic.h forineil the liarvist-hoino, of so much importance in luicient 
times. Wages were a penny a day in harvest, and n Imlf-penny at other seasons; the uverape prii;e of vvhoat was 
01. Rv. a quarter, which list clearly shows the small pro^'ress made in tillage and husbandry, and how little the present 
Hlart'of lile I'ntered into the general consumption of the community. 'J'heir habitations were without chiinm-ys, anil 
their priiii'i|>.il furniture consisted of a brass pot, valued from one to three shillings ; and a bed valued from three to 
six shillings. 

" The variations in the prices of commodities were great and sudden, arising from the absence of commercial middle- 
men, whose pursuits, though often viewed with prejudice, tend to produce a regular and eiiuahle supply of the most 
essential articles of consumption throughout the ye.ir. The trade of a corn dealer seems to have been unknown ; nor 
except in the Abbey-Granges do wo meet with instances of corn being collected in l.irge quantities.* The natural con- 
sequence must have been, tint the firrners, without capital, disposed of their crops at moderate prices, soon after the 
harvest; purchasers who looked only to their immediate wants, having corn cheap, were naturally wa.steful and im- 
provident in the consumption ; the price, therefore, almost invariably rose as the year advanced, and was frequently at 
an enormous height just before harvest, when the supply of the preceding season was nearly exhausted. Stow relates, 
that in 1317 the harvest was all got in before the 1st of September ; and that wheat which had before been at 4/. the 
quarter fell to li.<. 8'/.. a twelfth pirt of the price. A reference to tables of prices furnishes abundant proof of the ex- 
treme misery of thee times, in whii-h, the only buyers of corn were the consumers; and no monopolists, as lliey are 
termed, interfered, who, by the aid of superior capital, purchasing the redundant produce of one year, made a provisi^ 
for the scarcity of another." 

From the lowest price of wheat here slated, it will appear that the laboring man would receive 
about '3 quarts fir each day's work — but flour was an article the laborers of that period used as 
seldom as those of our coutitry at the present time do a service of gold plate. 

A quarter of wheat consists of". 8 bushels. ^ 

One poun<l sterling is $4 85. 

One shilling sterlin? is 'J4.', cents. 

One penny sterling is 2 cents. 

Wade further says — 

" The rate of wages may be collected from the statute of llOfi, mentioned above, and was as follows ■. 

Jlgriailturul Servants, with diet, for one ijeaT. 

£. s. d. £. s. d. 

To a bailiff of husbandry, not moie than 1 IG 8 and for clothing 5 

A chief hind or chief shepherd I ditto 5 

A common servant of husbindry lli 8 ditto 4 

A woman servant 10 ditto 4 

A child under 14 years of age 68 ditto 4 

Wages appointed fvr Artificers. 

Biilwcrn Ea.i'tr and Bctwern Michaelmas 
MUharlnru. and Ea.itcr. 

A free Mason, Master Carpenter, Kough Mason, Bricklayer, ) with diet 4d., ( with diet 3d., 

Master Tiler, riumber. Glazier, Carver, Joiner, ( witholit (id. j without5d. 

Other laborers, (except in harvest,) \ witl.dietSd., | with diet l.^d., 

^ " I without 4d ) without :td. 

In harvest, every mower, by the day, ! ; with diet 4il., 

■'''■" ( \ without (id. 

A reaper, ditto, with diet 3d., 

/ without (id, 

A carter, ditto, witl. diet 3d,, 

( without 5d. 

A woman, and other laborers, ditto i with diet 21d., 

( without 4id, 

Wade also says — 

-" So late as the reign of Queen Mary, the dwelling of an Rnglish pi'asant was little superior in comfort and cleanli- 
ness to what we oliservo in the clay-built hovels of the Irish. The dwellings of the common people, according to 
Erasmus, hid not yet alt lined the convenience of a chimney to lot out the smoke, and the flooring of their huts was 
nothing bnt the btire ground ; their beds consisted of straw, among which was an ancient accumulation of lilth and 
refuse, with a h \rd block of wood for a pillow. And such in general was the situation of the laboring classes through- 
out Kiirope, Fortescue, w1m> wrote in the reign of Henry VI., speaking of the French peasantry, says, ' Tliay drink 
wat.y, thay eate apples, with bread ri^-ht biown, made of rye ; they eafe no flesche, but, if it be selden ; a littelj larde. 
or of the entrails or beds of beasts sclayne lor the nobles or merebaunts of the lond.' " 

NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, R. I., Herald of the Times, March 19, 1840,] 

No. 6. 

Further Effects of Mr. Van Burrn's " Fahc System" as displayed in his false 
Statements to the People, and also of his Secretary, Levi Woodbury's — both 
forming a " Unit," irith Remarks on the same, 4'r, i^v. tS^'c. 

Extrncts from Mr. Van Buren's Message to the two houses of Congress, December 24, 1939, 
— l.">,000 copies ordered to be printed, without accompanying documents, 5000 cories with doc- 
uments, for use of the people : — 

* Sir F. Eden's State of thb Poor, vol. i. p. 18. 



42 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

" The nineteen millions cf Treasury notes, autliorlzed l)y tlie art of Consress of 1837, and tlie modification tlicreof, 
witli u view totlio indulijence of m;rcli..nts on tlitir duty l<orids, and of llie UejJosit liiailis in the payment of imiilic 
moneys, lu-iJ Ijy tin in, li.ivo been so punftually redeemed as to leave less tli.ai the ori^'inal ten millions uutst. ndiiig at 
any one lime, and the whole amount ui ledeerned now fills short u( tlirre viillioM: Of these, the chief portion arn 
not due till next year, [seven days from the time this message w is communicated to Congress,] and the V\ HOI,K 
woidil liacf been already crtinguUked coull the 'i reasury have realized the payments DUE to it fiom the BANKt'. If 
those duo from them during the next year shall be [)unelually nn.de, unil if Congress shall kec^p the appropriations 
witliin the e.stiiiiale.:, there is EVERY KEASOJV to believe th.il all the outstanding treasury notes can be redeemed, 
and the ordinary expenses defrayed, w ithout iinposing on the peojile any additional burden, cither of Ivan or increase 
of taxe.-i." 

Extracts from Mr. Secretary Woodbury's report on the state of the Finances, Dec. 24th, 1839, 
— ten thousand copies ordered to be printed for use of the people. 

" There will be DUE from the United States l!u;ik iu SEI'TE.MBKR NEXT, on its fourth bond, about 2,.'')2G,r)76 
dollars." 

" The principal now due on the treasury deposits in other banks, which suspended specie payments in 1837, is 
1,1-I'.1,!J04 dollars." 

Mr. Woodbury further states, in his annual report, that there are outstanding treasury notes 
to the amount of :^,75U,0UU dollars — and then goes on in his report to say — 

"The aggregate of two millions and three fourths of principal, [of 'J'reasury Not.'S,] is therefore all that it is com- 
puted will be unpaid of naarly f.venly millions, which were issued since Octo ler, It^JT, in consequence ol indulgences 
granted to the merchants on their bonds, and the Banks on their <leposit debts. At no one time has the amount of 
notes outstanding been allowed to exceeil ten millions, and the very present reduced aggregate, unredeemed, is less 
tlian the sums still owing from the Hanks that suspendi-d sperie p lynienls in 18;i7, and from the i'cnnsylvania B.iuk of 
the Uiiited States on its bond due in September next, and might WITH EAi?E have been paid during the present year, 
had the money been received on these claims." 

It will be seen that 120.000 copies of the President's message were ordered to be printed and 
distributed among the people, containing this deliberate and evidently premeditated falsehood, 
as announced in the preceding extract. Martin Van Buren there distinctly states that the 
whole of the outstanding treasury notes would have been redeemed, amounting to nearly three 
millions of dollars, COULD "the treasury have realized the pnyments DUE to it from the 
Banks," which amount due from the Banks Mr. Woodbury is obliged to confess is hut l,]4y,i'^''l 
dollars in all. Let it be also remembered that the same executive supporters, who voted for the 
distribution of 20,000 copies of the President's message, (containing this, as well as many other 
perversions of the truth, equally glaring,) voted the printing of 1 0,000 copies 07iiij of the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury's report. The writer will defy any honest man of ordinary intelligence to 
read and examine the extract from Mr. Van Burcn's message, and then compare it with the ex- 
tract from Mr. Woodbury's report, without his being compelled to come to the conclusion in his 
own mind, that the one was concocted for the express purpose of deceiving the people, and the 
othi^r with a view to corroborate, as much as |)ossible, the misstatement of the President. Mr. 
Woodbury says, the treasury notes would witli EASE have been paid, had over two millions 
of money been paid into the'Treasury by the United States Bunk of Pcnnsij'van'ui, about NINE 
MONTHS BEFORE it became DUE, and evidently means to convey the impression that the 
government is badly treated by being kept out of the money by the Bank. Now let it be re- 
membered, that this fourth instalment, due next September, from the United States Bank, of 
Pennsylvania, is in part payment of the stock formerly owned by the people in the United 
Stali-s Bank, the charier of whicli expired in 18:!G. This Bank was declared to be bankrupt, 
rotten, and broken, Ijy every minion of the Executive, at that time, and yet Martin Van Buren, 
by his worthy Secretary, had the conscience, to sell the people's stock to the Pennsylvania '■'■ Mon- 
st'r" i'or about 12 per ct., if memory serves, above its first cost — the payments for which, 
agreeably to the terms of the contract, have all hecn prompt! ij met by the Bank when DUE, as 
will no doubt be the bond falling due in next September, it being tlit- last payment to be made 
by the Bank of Pennsylvania to government, if the writer mistakes not. 

During the four years' administration of that '■• Bunk-liovglit Whi<r" President, John Q. Adams, 
all the expenses of the national government were defrayed, and the enormous sum of 45,S0;5,()42 
dolhirs was paid towards the principal and interest of the national debt. The people hardly 
knew who kept their mon<'y, so quietly did every thing move ; but they knew it was all kept 
Bale, and applied only to the purposes they directed. As has been slated, while it was in the 
custody of tlie United States Bank, a period of 17 years, not one dollar of it was lost — neither 
were the peoi)le put to the expense of one dollar for its safe keeping, or its disbursements. 

Since .Martin Van Buren came into power, he has spent of the peo])le's money the sum of 
6,070,137 dollars, which he i'ound in the Treasury when he assumed the Presidential chair — he 
has also squandered !),3()7,214 dollars, which he also found in the Treasurv, and wiiieh had been 
ap])ropriated by Congress to be deposited witli the Stntes — lie has also sjient about five millions 
of dollars already received f;om the United States Bank of Pennsylvania, in payment for the 
people's stock before alluded to, and has also run the people in debt several millions by the issue 
of iVeasury Notes, besides squandering the whole revenues of the country, — and now, witli 
unblushing eflrontery, to which the writer defies the world to produce a parallel, he comes for- 
ward, and after denouncing, as he has heretofore done, the merchants and business men gen- 
erally, and the stockholders of all the Banks, as being no belter than swindlers, he also brings 
a charge of baiikruptcv against the individual and sovereign States of the Union : and his min- 
ions ill the Senate of the United States, instead of attending to business intrusted to them by 
the people, have for the last mrmth passed their time in devising the best plan to destroy, not 
only the piosperity, but the credit of their individual State constituents. This plan is perfecting, 
too, at a time when this same Martin Van Buren has requested Congress to provide ways and 



BY A LABORING MAN. 43 

means to ineot the expenses of government, to the amount of indefinite millions, over and above 
the ai-lual revenues, for the ensuinor year; thus provinir, beyond a doubt, the falsehood of both 
his own and his Secretary's previous statements to tlie people, in tlieir ofHcial annual reports of 
the state of the Nation and its Finances — well knowing that these documents, especially the 
{'resident's niessag-e, would penetrate every fire-side and grog-shop of the nation, while the 
after statements and calls for money by the Executive and his olKcers would be disseminated 
only through the newspapers, and bi- but a |iartial antidote to the poison previously infased into 
t!ie minds of the great body of tiie peo[)le by the oliieial docunients, wiiich they have been ac- 
customed to look upon as almost sacred, and as containing nothing but the truth. 

It will be remembered that a defaulter to a small amount, by the name of Tobias Watkins, 
was incarcerated in prison for some j-ears, by tiiis virtuous reform administration, so holy was 
their zeal for the people's tfootl. If the writer remembers, this was the only defaulter under Mr. 
Adams which his successor and friends could find, fm whom to wreak their virtuous indignation. 
With these data, hear wliat Mr. Van Buren in his last annual message again says: — "Since the 
otficers of the Treasury and Post OlKce departments were charged with the custody of most of 
the public money, received by them, there have been collected sixty-six millions of dollars, and 
excluding the case of the late (Collector of New York, the aggregate amount of losses sustained 
in the cjlleclion cannot, it is believed, exceed sijfij thousand f/ollnrs." 

The writer will ask the reader to pause and ponder on the above extract. What does it mean? 
Do you not understand by it that since the government money has been removed from the 
cliarge of the Banks, the ■whole losses by Government olKcers, with one exception, does not ex- 
ceed the sum of sLrtij thousuml dollars? Tile intention of Mr. Van Buren is too obvious to be 
mistaken, and by a reference to the oiUcial documents, it will be found that this conclusion will 
be irresistibly f irced on the mind by the cunning manner he evades alluding to losses by dis- 
burseiuents. The writer of tliis has no means within his reach to ascertain tlie amounts plun- 
dered from the pc-ople by Executive officers since 1838, but from a report of the Secretary of the 
Treasury^ (Mr. Woodbury.) and the report of a Conmiittee of Congress in tlie session of Id^Jd- 
183l>, it appears that from tiie fourth of March, lc:?7, which was the day Mr. Van Buren assumed 
his duties as president, up to the date of the report of the committee, (about tVi'o years,) the fol- 
lowing list of Federal Executive officers were proved to be defaulters to the amount stated, be- 
sides jnany others of a previous date : — 

B. R. Iloscrs, Oi)cloiisjiu, L:i § f;,G34 Jlav a'l, I^S?. 

J. \V. Slcvensoii, Caloim, 111 43,294 Miiv •'), 1«37. 

S. \V. Ufu.l, Grtfu 15av, I0,H20 June' 29, 1837. 

G. U. Bovil, ColuiDl.iis', .Mi 00,937 Au?. 31, 1837. 

A. S. Thurston, K.y West, 2,622 Jan. 22, 1838. 

Geo. \V. Oiven, .Mjl.ile, 11,173 July 2.5, 1838. 

S. SwartwDut, Now York, 1,2A5,705 '. ... 1838. 

W^n. .M. I'fice, " 75,000 18:j8. 

I*. ( -l.ilikrs, Grcon^l)ur», La 12,459 1838. 

VVm. l.vnn, Vandaliii, III 55,%2 1838. 

S. Y. s; (lit, Ja. kson, .\li 12,.'i50 1838. 

J. L. l)uniL-l3, Opriou^iiis, La 7,280 1S38. 

J. T. Pollock, Cravvfonlville, 111 14,691 1838. 

M. Neville, (.inc-innuti, 13,781 1838. 

M. J. All m, Tall.ihassi e, 2H,691 1838. 

U. T. Brown, Sprinjjtitld, III 3,000 1838. 

I. T. Caiiby, Crawfoidville, 37,013 1838. 

Total, !S1,62I ,802 

Truth told with tlie intention to deceive, is the worst species of falsehood. The writer will 
leave ihe reader to make his own comments on the preceding statements, and begs he will add 
this deceptive means of acquiring power, adopted by tiie present Executive, to those other 
methods he has previously enumerated — this subject being more particularly connected with 
the writer's remarks on the "sound democratic rule '' of " rotation in office," and the premium 
otli'red for dishonest and unscrupulous executive tigents and officers. 

Martin Van Buren has the honor of originating another mode for the purpose of obtaining the 
suffrages of a vast body of foreigners in the United States, of which little hiis been said. 

It is perhaps known to most readers, that a very \arw proportion of tlie Emigrants who come 
to this country from Europe, are of the most oppressed and ))overty-stricken class. God forbid 
thai we should refuse them an asylum, but at the same time, they should not be allowed to 
interfere with our elections and institutions until they have resided in the United States a suf- 
ticieiit time at least to become acquainted with tlie principles of our constitution and govern- 
ment. The unfortunate people have, most of them, grown up under established despotisms, 
which are entirely independent of the ^reat body of tlie people, and their rulers, not being at all 
beholden to them f)r their power, of course do not consider it necessary to use any flattery or 
manifest any particular interest in the well-being of their subjects, as they are able to control all 
by means of the standing armies, and the possession of the public revenues, which despots now 
do, and in all ages ever have controlled. When these people arrive in this country, they look 
upon the President of the United Slates as h.'inir, or Emperor, and have no idea of any other 
power than his. They do not understand why he should profess more regard for their welfare 
than the tyrants they have just escaped from — unless he really feels and is sincere in what he 
says — and when told that these extraordinary professions are frequently made with the view of 
getting their suffrages only, it strikes them as a thing impossible that so gieat a man as they 



44 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

have been taught from their infancy to believe the ruler of any nation mvst be, would conde- 
ecend to ask aid from such poor creatures as they themselves are. But on the contrary, in the 
menial spirit produced by the constant pressure of poverty and degradation which they have 
previously been subjected to, they ascribe all the professions of kindness from the Executive and 
his minions to pure condescension, and pi'y for the poor furtigner. In this waj', tliese poor, de- 
luded men are made use of to overthrow and subvert the very institutions and laws that protect 
them, and are seduced to assist in bringing about a change of things which must inevitably, if 
not soon cliecked, end in a despotism similar to those they have but just esc.iped from. This 
class of foreign voters deserve commiseration rather than reproach, and it sjiould be made the 
business of all true friends of their country to instruct this portion of the population in tlie prin- 
ciples of self-government, as laid down in our constitution, and generally understood in the 
United States. This course, universally followed, would do more to correct the present evils of 
the times than all the arguments that can be put forth to the people from our statesmen, or 
through the public press — but few of which are heard or read by this class of people. 

Unless a majority of a people are sufficiently enlightened and well informed to be capable of 
governing themselves indiridiiaUy, it is in vain to e.xpect them in the aggregate to sustain a free 
form of government: sooner or later it must fail, and the people reap the inevitable punishment 
awarded by the laws of nature to vice and ignorance — an urhitiurij government preceded by a 
state of anarchy, — in spite of all the physical cfibrts they may make, as it is only b}' the moral 
power that a free government can be for any time sustained. 

The tendencj' of the moral standard of this country has been downward for the last 10 or 12 
years. The wickedness of the head has made the whole body sick. As before stated, there 
has been a constant premium offered on dishonesty by the Executive since Andrew .hickson was 
first elected. The question since has not been, as in better days, " Is an applicant for otHce hon- 
est — is he faithful to his trust ^ " — but these questions have been reversed — " Is he disliunest — 
— can the President depend upon his serving him, rather than his country — and to do this will 
he be ■unfaiihful to his trust .^ " This doctrine has had its effect. — We can scarcely move with- 
out being reminded of it. The adherents of the Executive, far and near, make no secret of de- 
claring that tliey have no belief in any man's acting from a sense of duty ; but that all are alike 
governed by their own individual interest, and that the only object the Whig party have in de- 
feating the election of Mr. Van Buren, is to secure the '' spoils." This sentiment must be stayed 
in its progress, or as sure as there is a connection between " cause and efft'ct," our country will 
Roon become a " bvword and a term of reproach " to the " nations of the earth." 

Ths operations of nature and the great causes that influence the affairs of mankind, depend 
mostly on principles quiet and noiseless i.n their progress, but which move with resistless power, 
and which cannot, to any extent, be stayed by physical force — although they may be influenced and 
guided by the moral powers of man. The tide of the sea will ebb and flow in its season, regard- 
less of the commands of an Alexander or the chains of a Xerxes — although the mightiest army 
should be drowned in its swell, or the proudest navy should be stranded by its fall. The tempest 
may rage, and the unseen wind may lash and vex the ocean until it roars aloud, and from the tops 
of its mountain waves s])eaks to the thunder on tiie very threshold of its home in the clouds; the 
fleets of the world may be wrecked and scattered as straws on its bosom, or they may I'ounder 
and go down in its depths, — still the great, silent, and perhaps unknown first cause, is at work, 
and the waters ebb and flow regardless of the conflict on their surface, which is merged in the 
greatness of its quiet and irresistible power. Such are the great principles that govern mostly 
the aflltirs of men ; the noise and the tumult of mankind are but as the storm on the ocean, and 
will do as little towards controlling the great causes that lead to a naticm's greatness or degrada- 
tion, as the thunder and tempest will do towards controlling the tides of the sea. 

The writer has endeavored to show some of the effi'cts produced on our elections by the estab- 
lishment of the political doctrines of the ^'■unil " — the '• spoils," and " rotation in office," and also 
by the dece[)tive language and statements of the president and his officers, particularly as applied 
to foreigners, lie will now endeavor to trace one other secret principle of action which Martin 
Van Buren has used as an auxiliary to establish himself in power. 

If there is any one feature in the institutions ofour country more to be prized by every Ameri- 
can citizen than another, it is that imbodied in that part ofour constitutitm which sa3's — " Congress 
shall mahe no hnn respecting the estalilishment of religion, or prohibiting the free extrr.isc thereof." 
And the writer hopes and trusts, that as bad as things with us now undoubtedly are, the day is yet 
far oft' in whii-ii anv person shall he molested in the exercise of his religion, let his creed or mode 
of worship be what it may. The source of religion is not to be reached by physical power, and any 
attempt to interfere with the freedom of conscience, in however slight a degree, by legislation or 
executive usurpation, should be met by the people and be put down at once. But as it has been 
deehired from a liigli source, that it is by '• constant watchfulness alone," that the freedom of a 
r»'|)uhlic can be maintained, — it becomes every American citizen, who wishes well to his country, 
to counteract, as much as lies in his power, any attem]>t that may be made by designing men to 
turn the [x-culiar tenets of any particular religions sect to political account, and to check the at- 
tem|)t when made, in the bud, or this means of acquiring power may be soon made use of to an 
extent but little dreamed of at present. 

It is perhaps known to most that a very large proportion of the emigrants who come to the 
United States, profi^ss the IlomHn Catholic religion ; and should this liappen to fall into the hands 
of anv of that sect, the writer wishes it distinctly to he understood, that it is not with any inten- 
tion of lessening any individuals of that faith in the estimation of their ft .low-citizens of other 



BY A LABORING MAN. 45 

denominations, that the subject of their religion is hero referred to — as he would be the last to 
permit tiieir religious rigiits to lie interfered with. So far as the writer's observation extends, he 
has every reason to 8uppo.se there are as many sincere worshippers of the Deity among tliat re- 
ligious sect, both as it regards the priests and the people, as of any other denomination of pro- 
fessing Ciiristiaus — there undoubtedly being good and bad among all denominations. But it 
will readily be admitted by those who have i)aid attention to the sul)ject, that there is a most 
entire and all-absorbing devotion in the Catholic clergy to the e.\tension of the peculiar tenets of 
their religion — which, whether from a sincere desire "to promote the good of men, or the love of 
power, or of both, it is unnecessary to inquire — as it is enough to have it admitted, which the 
writer believes will readily be done by all wiio have e.\amined the question, that such is the fact. 
Since the decline of the power of the Romish Church, the catholic priests in a body, acting under 
their sujjreme head at Rome, ever stand ready to seize on the most trifling circumstance to ad- 
vance the caiise of tiie Clmrch, regardless of the effects produced on m;;tters of exclusively a 
temporal nature. Their peculiar doctrine of confession enables the priests to understand the 
secret motives and springs of action of the individual members of their flocks, which they are 
thereby enabled to control, — while they themselves being subject to the direction of tlu'ir superior 
Cler^-y and Bishops, and they again acting under the orders of the supreme head oftiie Cliurch, 
the Pope at Rome — it becomes a matter of course that the whole Church may readily be brought 
to act as one man on any subject their spiritual head may choose to direct. This was a source 
of power which the shrewd and cunning M.irtin Van Buren foresaw might be turned to great 
political account, and was at once seized upon by him, and at a favorable juncture a skilfully 
worded letter, as given below, was addressed to the head of the Catholic Church.* By this mas- 
ter stroke of policy, Martin Van Buren probably secured not less than 100,000 votes. The or- 

* tt seems that a 'lispiite hud oi-curred in Phihi l-lphi i hetween two ofRciiitin-; priests, wlio ha;l both .solicitRil the 
inti-rfercnco of the Fedcril Executive to sctth- their dilficulty with his Holiness the Pope. It is h:ir(lly jiro'iahle that 
the f> imcrs ofour coiistitulioii ever .inppos'd th ^t a case could occur in which the President of lliu United States 
should ho called upon to assist in si'ttlin; di'Iicnlli^'S or disputes brtweon its own citizens by an appeal to a foreign 
power. Put Mr. V:in Buren, wlio was then .Secret. iry of State, evidently considered the opportunity ot" injr.-itialing 
himself with the people of the C tholie, roliijion too good to ba lost. lie forthwith found means to open a correspond- 
cnro with the ronit of his Holincis the Pope at Rom;. The writer knows of no means of ^ittin^ at tbe conimence- 
ment of this eorrespon lencf, and it was pro'm'dy managed in such a way as to render full developments impossi'jle ; 
but it is evident that tlie following iiotjs, puhlislied in Niles's Register, August 2, 1834, are a continuation of a prece.d- 
ing written or verbal correspondence. 

Mr. Cico^nani to Mr. Van Buren. 

" Rome, May 8lh, 1830. 

" Yesterday 1 had a pnrticiilnr audience from his Holiness, in my official capacity of consul of the United Htatcs of 
America in Rome. His Holiness received me in the mo-it benign manner, and e.xpresseil the most favorable sentiments 
for the 1,'overnMient as well as fur the nation of the United States of America. He s lid th it he was favorably inclined 
to the United States of America, Iteiauie the C itliolir; people enjoy the same protection iis the other citizens of differ- 
ent creeds, an<l have no dis ibililies according to tlie law. His Holiness desired nie part'cular'y and repeatedly to assure, 
in bis nime, tbe governuirnt of the United States, that he will iiroer interfere in politics, and that in case of any mis- 
iutolligeuee between governments, he will do nil in his power to lead them to peace ; he re(|uesteil also that I should 
express his wish that the citizens of the United States of America professing tbe Cjlliolic religion, may in future meet 
with tbe s.tme protection tliey have found to this time. 

" Atler the audience from his Holiness, I went, as is customary, to pay my respects to Cardinal Alhani, secretary of 
etate, who received me very kindly, and expressed the most friendly sentiments towards the citizens and the govern- 
ment of tbe United Stales of Ameiica. 'i'be manner in which I was received by bis Holiness and the caidin .1 secre- 
tary of state, and the sentiments expressed by tbem both, w\\\ afford groat gralilic .tion to the PresiiliMit ami to yourself, 
and I should he highly bonorjd, if you would mak • me the interpreter of the sentiments that you might tliink proper to 
reciprocate with those exjiressed by bis Holiness." 

Mr. Van Barcn to Mr. Cicoirnani. 

" Washihgton, aOth July, 1830. 

" Your letters of the lltli April and 5tb May, the first aiii/n'pofinn- the fivoralile sentiments of his Holim'ss the Popo 
tow.inls the government and people of the United Stites, and the last confirming your auti'Mp itions, have been received 
at this department, and submitted to the Presidentj by wliom I :im directed to convey to bis Holiness, tbrouirh fbes ime 
ch innel, an assurance of s ilisfaction which he derives t'roin this cimimunic.ition ofthefrink and liber d opinions eiter- 
t;iincd by tbe apostolic sei! tow,iril.s tliis government and peopl ■, and of the policy which you likewise st it(! bis Holiness 
has adopted, and which is so worthy of the hcid of a great and Christian chun-li, assi luously to cultivate, in his inter- 
coursi! with foreign nalions, the re I ilions of amity and good will, and sedulously toalntai'i IVom all inteiferenco in their 
occasional ditierencss witli each oilier, ex ept with the benign view of efff-ting rcroncili itions between them. 

" You will accor.lingly seek an early opportunity to make known to the I'op^, in terms and manner b 'Sl suited to the 
0"cnsi(ni, the light in which the Presi. lent views the communication referred to, and likewise, yon will assure him tint 
the President reciprociies, in their full extent and spiiit, the fiiendly and liberal sentiments entertiined by his Holi- 
ness towards the :;overninent and the people of tlie United Stiles, l)y tbo.se which ho entert lins towiirds the govern- 
ment of tbe apostolic see, and tbe people of the States of tbe Cliurch ; and it is the President's wish, that you should, 
upon tbe s ime occ.ision, olfer his (•on.;ratul:ilioni to the holy falli "r, up)-! bis recent succession to the Tiara, nut from 
any hrrrlilary cl.iim on his p rl, but from prefonderitiiig influence, which » just estimation of his tilenls and viriues 
luiiurully hid upon the eiiligliletied eouneils by which that high distinction was conferred ; and which afforded the best 
pliMlie that his pontilicite will be a wise and bonificent one. 

" You will take care, likewise, to as-ure his Holiness, in reference to tbe piterml solicitude which he exjiressos in be- 
half of the Roman Catlrolics of tbe United States, lliat all our citizens, professing that reliTio'i, sl iiid upon th? same 
elfvatfil grou id wbicb cilizjsns of all o!h jr ndigioiis djnoninalions ocuiy, i>i rogaril to the ri;bts of conseience — that 
of perf'Ct l.bertii, co-ilrailislingnishiid from tolerition : that they enjoy an entire exemption from coercion in every |>os- 
si'ale sliap?, upon tbe score of reli:,'ioiis faith, and that they are free, in common with their fellow-citizens of all other 
sects, to adhere to, or adopt the creeds, and practise ihe worship best al ipieil to their reason or prejudices, iiinl lliit 
there exists a perfect unity of faith in the United St ites amongst religionists of all prnfessioiH, as to the wisdom and 
policy of that cirdin il fe tare of all our con.stitutions and frames of government, both those of Ihe United Stati s and 
the separate States of the Union, by which this inestimable right is forin:illy recognized, and the enjoyment of il ii>- 
viol ibly secured." 

It would be very cratifying to the writer, to lie able to ascertain the mode in wliifch the previous commnnintion be- 
tween .Mr. Viin Hnren and his Holiness hid been curried on. It wis pro'ia'ilv commenced by r'-r/ia/ comiTiunieatinns 
from so-iie of Mr. Van Hiiren's friends, who might hive been on a visit to Itnly at tint lime. It is evi.f'nt from the 
Stress the IlaUaii Consul lays on the passage particalarlu and rrpealedlu, that much weight had been given to the sul>- 



46 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

dinary Irish, cspeciitlly., look to their priests for both spiritual and temporal advice, and their word 
is by them generally considered the law — and the writer has no reason to believe but that the 
advice the priests give is generally the best the case will admit ui" as regards the personal inter- 
ests and well being of tlie individuals of their Hocks. But this does not vary the results that 
may be produced in a political point of view. 

A gentleman perfectly conversant witli the subject of the internal improvements in Pennsyl- 
vania, intbrmed the writer in Philadelphia a few years since, that j)revious to the last Presiden- 
tial election, there was for some time a great diversity of opinion among the thousands of Irish 
laborers employed on the canals, railroads, and various public works of that State, with regard 
to whicii was the best man for the Presidency, IMartin Van Buren or Gen. Harrison, there being 
a large portion of tliein in favor of the latter candidate. He also staled, that a lew days before 
tile choice of Electois, tiiere was a general movement of the Priests along the line of canals and 
railroads, and that as they passed, all political discussions were hushed in their rear among the 
workmen, who afterwards almost to a man voted for Jilarlin Van Butch! 

The writer has heard an anecdote of sometiiing of this nature, which occurred on the Stoning- 
ton railroad, wliile it was making, a few years since, the circumstance of which some readers 
may p(jssibly be acquainted with. A contractor had, in an unguarded moment, used some harsh 
expression to the Priest while making his periodical round. 'Phe Priest bore the insult passive- 
ly, and without much if any remark — but the very next day a large proportion of the con- 
tractor's best laborers left his employ, without assigning any cause, and he was unable to prevail 
upon them to resume their work, until he privately apologized to the Priest, when the laborers 
directly after returned. — Finding the intluence of the Priest among the laborers to be so great, 
some time afterwards, when there was a great scarcity of hands, this same contractor haiidi-d this 
same Priest a ten or a twenty dollar bill piicately, and simply remarked that he should be glad 
to iiave ten or twenty more good hands. Nothing was said in rej)ly, but in a day or two, the 
hands were supplied at the expense of the neighboring contractors, who probably did not suspect 
the real cause of these men's leaving their employ. 

There are many other societies that are liable to be made use of in very mucli this same way, 
for political purposes, and if the writer is not very much mistaken, there is at this present linje a 
plan organizing at Washington by JNIessrs. Kendall, Benton, Blair, and Co. for the pur|)ose of 
obtaining the votes of a large proportion of the religious society of Methodists, to meet the Pres- 
idential election four years hence. 

Most men are too apt to think political movements and events are produced by accidental 
causes, when in fact nearly all of importance, of late years, have been the result of deliberate 
plans, but little suspected by the peo[)le at large. They have been arranged and perfected by 
political men, whose incomes are derived from tlieir salaries, and being thus left at leisure, they 
occupy their time in turning the whole United States into a political cliess-board, which they 
place as it were before them, and like gambling sharpers, secretly play its diversity of interests and 
prejudices against each other until they ascertain, almost to a certainty, the leading moves that 
will insure success. In this, the present men in power are much assisted by the strict organi- 
zation of the Executive oifice-holders throughout the Union — and who report every circum- 
stance of importance to their superiors, as oiten as it occurs. To show to what an extent this 
system of espionage has been carried, it is perhaps sufficient to state, that the chief otHcer of a Rev- 
enue Cutter in Newport,a few years since, as the writer has been informed, had, after drinking rather 
freely, made some allusion to the President, or some of his friends, not altogether respectful — 
when a fi'W days after he received a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, quoting, verba 
tim, the words the revenue officer had used, and it was afterwards supposed he had been over 
heard by an eavcs-droppi.r who was listening at the window, and who immediately repcrlc^d the 
conversation to the Secretary at Washington. 

The plans of these men are generally too deeply laid to be fully comprehended by the great 
body of the peoj)le, wlio treat as ridiculous, and absurd, the remote causes to which political re- 
sults are frequently ascribed, and from whicli they really originate. The peoi)le cannot conceive, 
for instance, how the present bankruptcy of the country, can have grown out of General Jack- 
son's simply removing a sum of money from one bank to others — Ihey think so great an eft'ect 
must have been produced by a cause of corresponding magnitude. — They reason like the citi- 
zens of London, in KW), who, when K},2(.)0 dwelling-hou.ses, cov(^ring 4;5(J acres of land, w-tg 
consumed, could not conceive of so great a devastation being caused by a fire kiadlod by as.'. ^le 
spark. 

It is not unfrequontly the case that tiie results jiroduced by these political gamblings are ap- 
parently of directly a contrary nature from what an inexperienced person would suppose would 
be produced on seeing the first moves of the gamblers on the chess-board. 

For instance, at the present time, it is thought strange by many that the Executive should per- 
severe in keeping a consul at Havana, who, it is believed by man}', is accumulating a fortune by 

iect of inin-ff.rencK in ■politics — nnd the wrilur, in reailiiig it, was rciiiinJod of the following anecdote, which was pub- 
lislied ill the pipcrii not lon^' 8ince: — 

An Irish ostlur caind to confi s< to hi^ prii-st — nfii>r conlV-ision, ho w:is ahont to retire, when his confessor askfld 
liim if he Ind eonf.is.sod all. — P.it rick r^'l'li"^'! 'i" had. — The piie<!t aslccil him whether "he had never creased his 
liorsos' leelh lo prevent their eiitin? their ijriin .'"— Patrick answi^red in inurli surprise that ho never had. Soma 
time after, Patrick nppe ired ajiin to coiife'^-iioi, and finally acknowl'vls;i'il, amonj; othnr sins tl">t he hud " greased Iha 
horses' teeth to prevent their eatiii,' sriiii."— Mis eonlessor rcprini inded him sharply, anil asked him how ho came to 
do it w«m— when he had stated in his list confession tiiat he had never heen guilty of such a crime.— Patrirk re- 
pented of his fault, and confessed he never should have thou;lit of such a crime, if his honor had aai first mentioned 
it to him. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 47 

connic'uig at tlic African slave trade. — It is known that tlie slave trade, at the present time, is 
carried on to a greater extent on tiie coast of Africa, tlian it has been for any former period, 
(wiih ihe exception of about tiiree hundred miles of coast now under tiie jurisdiction of liie 
American Colonization Society, who have by the most praiseworthy exertions annihilated the 
accursed trallic within t!ie bounds of their colonies — tlie extension of which promises to be the 
only sure remedy for tiiis cryin:; pvil.) — This trade is mostly carried on iu Amenean vessels, 
and under the American flair, tilted out from tiie Island of Cuba. From accounts that are to be 
relied on, there has not passed uii hour, probably not tweniij consecutive minutes, for the last year 
or two, in which the ear of eternal and retributive .Justice has not heard tlie last groan of some 
dying African, as it has ascended from that den of darkness and misery, the hold of a slaver, over 
which waved the American flag. The family of the consul at Havana has some influence at the 
Si)Uth, and the llxecutive no doubt derives some support from them — but this is not apparently 
of sutlicient conse(|uence to counteract tl»e loss of votes that will be produced by the disgust his 
conduct has so generally excited. But should Martin Van Buren, after having thus encour- 
aged this trade, send out some armed vessels at a favorable juncture, (to meet the next Presi- 
dential election,) and they should succeed in capUiring a dozen or twenty of these American 
slavers, vvliich the consul at Havana may have assisted in sending to tiie coast of Africa, the 
eclat the Administration would acquire by the act would be prodigious, and he would jjrobably 
receive the votes of thousands for tlie very conduct, which, wlien viewed in all its |)arts, siiould 
doom him to the execration of all mankind. The writer does not mean to be understood that 
there is any plan of the kind now in |)rogress — or that the President or Consul are guilty of the 
charge of conniving at the slave trade, but supposes this case only in illustration of what has 
been iiefore stated. 

We are too ajit to suppose men great, because they have attained to conspicuous stations. 
This does not necessarily prove them so. It is full as likely to prove that those who placed 
them there are little, as it is to prove that they tliemselvos are great; and most of us prefer ac- 
knowledging others to be great, rather than to confess ourselves to be little. To those who right- 
ly think, .Martin Van Buren's exaltation in political life is no proof of virtue, or even of superior 
talents. His whole soul, from his earliest youth, in common with many of his political associ- 
ati^s, has been bent upon acquiring otlice ; and all experience goes to jjiove that the most ordi- 
nary mind can scarcely fail in ultimately obtaining its ol)ject, however high, if in early youth a 
determination is made and is prosecuted witii perseverance, and an unscrupulous disrcgurd of 
right, in the means adopted to attain it. A truly great man will be great a.^iong great men; of 
this class were George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Were a majority of the world 
composed of Wasliingtons and Franklins, the low cunning of such men as Martin Van Buren 
would avail but little in deceiving them. During the revolutionary vvar, Aarou Burr was at- 
tached t) the staft' of General Washington, and came to reside with him in his family. In less 
than one week, his intriguing character was penetrated by the noble Washington, and he was 
dismissi>d his house; yet this same Aaron Burr came within a few votes of being elected Presi- 
dent of the United Slates. He failed, however, in attaining to that station, and during his after 
life was de.'jpised by all, and died neglected. Siipjiose lie had iieen made President, — would a 
change of tlie few votes, more or less, necessary to have elected him, also have changed his 
character, and thereby made him great ? 

For some time during the revolutionary war, Aaron Burr was intrusted with the command of 
a part of the army stationed between New Yoik and Allniny, and acquitted himself to the satis- 
faction of his country. While holding this command, he subjected the territory under his mili- 
tary jurisdiction to a strict espionage, having adln-rents and officers who acted as spies in all 
parts of tiie country, and who reported regularly to him the sentiments of every man of impor- 
tance, and of all other events which he wished to be informed about. He arranged the inhabi- 
tants into three classes — the Whigs, who were tlie friends of liberty ; the Tories, who were 
opposed to the people, and in favor of tiie King; and a third class he called the neutrals, who 
took part with neither side. This system gave him great advantages, and at that time, it prob- 
ably proved of real service to the country. This was the germ of the same system of espiona^ 
that .Slarlin Van Buren and his friends liave since adopted, and which has proved so effective in 
cnilroHing the elections. The immense number of office-holders in the pay of the Executive, — 
many of whom have but little ta do but to become informed of their neighbors' sentiments and 
affairs, which are regularly reported to their superiors, — enables their masters to apply the proper 
means to produce the desired results. This was never perhaps more fully displayed than iiiime- 
diatv'ly preceding Martin Van Buren's election to the Presidency, when there were great num- 
bers of new officers appointed at important points, without any necessity, as far as the business 
of the country was concerned. About this lime, a great accession was made to the Custom 
House officers in New York. 

iVIartin \'an Burim was the protege and disciple of Aaron Burr, who instructed him in the 
first rudiments of p iliticil science, and in the arts of deception. Aaron Burr placed him in a 
lawyer's otfice in New York, and from time to time assisted him with his advice, even after he 
became Secretary of State under Gen. Jackson. This is well known to men now livinif in the 
c'.ly of New York. Martin Van Buren obt lined the Presidency by the same species of intrigue 
and political manoeuvring that hid so nearly elevated Aaron Burr tf) the same station some 
years before. Where lies the difference in the character of these two men.' It maybe con- 
tained in a ntit shell. 

The one was successful, and was called " a patriot." 

The other was unsuccessful, and was considered '• a knave." 



4S FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Further Extract from Mr. Van Bur ens last Message, Dec. 24, 1839. 

" From the results of inquiries m ide by the Secretary of the Treasury, in rejard to the practice among them, I am 
enabled to state that in TVVEi\TY-TWO out of TWENTY-SEVEN foreig";! GOVERNMENTS, from vvhicli un- 
doubted infiirniation has been obtained, the public muiicij.i have been kejit in the charfjc of public officers. 'J'liis ron- 
currence of oiiiiiion in favor of that system, is perhaps us great as exists on any (luestimi of internal adniinistralion." 

Further Extract from Mr. Woodbury's Report, Dec. 24, 1839. 

"Out of TWENTY-SEVEN GOVERNMENTS, in respect to whicb accurate statements have been obtained — 
and which include almost eoenj important ciedtied cuuutry in the world, — TWENTY-SIX seem to prohibit any private 
use of the public money either by collecting or disbursing agents. In SIX C,\SES only do the deposit agents appear 
to he allowed the use of public funds, and that only when these agents are BANKS, and the money is ))lac€d with 
them in general deposit. In a great majority of these governmsnts, the eniploynient of public funds for private pur- 
poses by any agents whatever is not only prohibited, but punished by severe penalties, such as inivrisonment, or the 
G.'\LLEYS, the PENITENTIARY, and in some instances DEATH." 

Leaving Mr. Van Buren and his loving secretary again to settle the contradictions involved in 
these extracts, the writer would ask the reader to pause a moment ere he proceeds fartlier ; let 
him abstract his tlioughts as much as possible from the misty sophisms that are every where 
meeting liis eyes and ears, and ask himself wliat all this means, l^ook again at those words, 
"gallcijs," "ptn/tentiarij" and '■'DEATH ; " how came they there? Why sliould they be named 
in connection with the safe keeping of the revenues of the United States, l.iat for 17 years were 
intrusted to that " Monster," the U. S. Bank, without any other guarantee for their safe keeping 
than the moral character of its managers, and yet not one cent was lost to the people? Those 
managers, as well as most other Bank Presidents, Directors and Stockholders, have long been 
denounced by the federal executive as "swindlers." If even our '■'■ su-indlcis" have kept the 
pubfic money safe, is it possible that it has becotne necessary to ask advice of the Grand Turk, 
as Martin Van Buren has done, and then with the most unblushing impudence to parade it be- 
fore the American people as an argument in favor of his Sub-Treasury':' Is it possible that it has 
come to this, that we are obliged to ask advice from the despots of Europe and of Asia, whose 
people are not yet even considered to be within the pale of civilization, with regard to the njode 
of keeping our money? Is it possible tiiat after all the parade made by the Executive about the 
HONESTV of his officers, " selected from the people," he should thus resort to threats of " Pknitkn- 
TiARy," " Galley," and " Death," to insure its safety? Hear what Martin Van Buren him- 
self says, in his message addressed to Congress, at the special session of Sept. 1837. In con- 
trasting these '^sicindling" banks with his own public officers, Martin Van Buren says — 

" Sucli Banks are not more able than the Government to secure thn money in their possession against accident, vio- 
lence, and fraud. The assertion that they ate so, must assume that a rmi:U in a bank is stronger than a vault in tho 
Treasury, and that directors, cashiers, and clerks, not selrn ted by the Government, nor under its control, are more 
worthy of contidence than otiicers selected FRtJ.M THE PEOPLE, and responsible tu the Ouvcrnment — ollirers, 
bound by oflicial oaths and bonds for a faithful peiformance of their duties, and constantly subject to the supervision 
of Congress." 

Is there any American citizen who has the heart of a man beating in his bosom, that can read 
this extract from Mr. Van Buren's message, without feeling his face to suffuse with indignation, 
and his soul to sicken with disgtist? — " Selr.cled from the people! " — The people of the United 
States, whose intelligenct; has been appealed to on every occasion by this same Martin Van Bu- 
ren, thus have their understandings insulted by being told that these public officers must be 
honest because they are '^ selected fiom the people." The plain English of this is, that the class 
Martin Van Buren means his address to operate upon, are considered by him to be either knaves 
or fo:ils, or both — there is no other construction whicii can be put upon his expression when 
closely examined. '■'■ Selected from the people!" Why, Benedict Arnold himself was "Wrrted 
from till', people." If any one doubts this, let him go to New Haven, where his identical sign is 
still displayed over his former grocer's shop. T.'ie long list of public defaulters, already enume- 
rated, were all '■' st.ltcted from thf. people" — as also were those who selected tliem. The Post 
Master General is '^ selected from the people," and so were a long list of defaulters — the records 
of whose peculations were destroyed by the burning of the building of the Post Office department 
at Washington. The Secretary of the Treasury is '■ selected from the people" — and so were the 
long list of defaulters, tlie records of whose peculations were destroyed by the burning of the 
building of the Treasury drpartrnent at Washington. — The incendiaries who burned both of 
these departments were " selected from the people," and if the truth is ever ascertained, so will it 
probably appear were those who selected them. 

It is by such " claptrap " appeals to the intelligence of the people as this, that we have been 
humbugged by such men as Martin Van Buren for the last 10 or 12 years. — And it is high time 
that the people of the United States, one and all, should arouse lliemselves, and prove to the 
hypocrites in power, that they possess at least intelligence enough to see through their disgusting 
flattery, and that they also possess sufficient power as yet to displace an administral'on that has 
cajoled the people of this country to the brink of ruin and despotism. If the people will do (his, 
and hereafter adopt as a general rule, that they will trust no man, let his politics be what they 
will, to manage their public affairs, who has not proved himself both capable and trustworthy in 
the management of private concerns, and who sustains an unblemished character beside — the 
country will be safe, and its prosperity will soon return. But it will be in vain to expect our 
public aflairs to be well managed, unless a thorough change in our system is carried out. Prac- 
tical and honest men must mit only be placed in the E.vecutive department and subordinate 
offices, but i)raclical men must also "be ])l:ic.d in our legislative departments — men who under- 
stand in what consists the permanent good and prosperity of a nation — men who will be capa- 
ble of representing every profession and class of people in the country — and practically so too. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 49 

— Tlicre should be f.irmprs for the farming intorost, — i)lanters for the planting, — merchants for 
the coininercial interest, — nianuractiirers I'or the manufacturing, — mechanics for the inccliani- 
cal — and fin illy, eocry interest should be representi-d by practical men, in proportion to the im- 
portance of its bearing on the general good of the counlry. Instead of the great interests of our 
country being jeopardized by llie action of Congress on the crude suggestions of some addle- 
hea(l<'d or harebrained theorist, no legislatiin sh )u!d be attempted whatever until its eflecta 
6hould be clearly ascertained by a thorough investigation of ihose jjnictlcuUy acquainted with the 
Bubject. The British parliament have long since adopted this rule, and dare not, and would not 
if they dare, pass any act that would tend in the most remo e degree to derange or injure any 
interest whatever — no, noteven that of the huckster women in the streets of London, until they 
had first appointed a commiltee to wait on them to obtain all the practical infurniation possible. 
In the Hjuse of Ilepresentatiycs at Washington, tliere are about 5i"2U me^nbers, about 1G(J of 
whom are Attorneys at law — and probably as gfeat or a greater proportion of the same profes- 
sion in the Senate. The profession of a lawyer is as respectable as that of any other, and it is 
periiaps best on many accounts that a so.'newhat larger proportion of that profession sliould be 
elected lo Congress than of most other professions or occupations, but a proper medium should 
be observed in all tilings. Most of this great body of Lawyers, have but little more opportunity 
of becoming acquainted witii the great interests of the business portion of the community, than 
the ordinary day laborer. In fact, the writer knows many laboring men who work out by the 
day for their living, who, he believes, are much more capable of representing tlie great interests 
ol'this country in Congress, than many men now there, and who are dignified witii tlie name of 
Lawyers, but in fact are really notliing but pettifoggers. This last class of men arc periiaps the 
most dangerous we can send to Congress. They are generally to be sold to tlie higliest bidder, 
and are sure to acquire a full stock ot impudence in the practice of their profession, which makes 
them ever ready to act upon any crude notion that may be put in their heads ; many of them 
have acquired a glibness of tongue, which, with a little smattering knowledge they have perhaps 
picked up by the i)ractice of law in a country village , and from the reading of the Globe and 
other iiewsjiapers at the neighboring Post Oilice or inn, enables them to pass for what are called 

frcat mm — when in reality they have scarcely common sense enough to know the difference 
I'twwn prolit and loss, and who will inevitably bring ruin and confusion with tliein, whether 
Ihr'y are intrusted with public or private concerns. 

Suppose there sliould be, for instance, one hundred farmers living on the Island of Rhode 
Island, who were ill the practice of hiring 300 laborers every year to assist them in improving their 
firms. Suppose these jivrmers should, from some unaccountable caprice, conclude to hire UOO 
Lawyers and pettifoggers as a part of these laborers. What think you would be the conse- 
quence.' The writer will venture lo say, from a long experience in the business of agriculture, 
that b-'fore the summer was half over, the whole business of the farmers would be brought to a 
stand. If these pettifoggers were set to hoeing, they would more than likely mistake the corn for 
the weeds, and destroy the corn and nurse the weeds, and in order to conceal their ignorance, tiiej 
would declare that they cut up the hill of corn on purpose, they btnng conscivnliouslii oppo.rd to 
all monopolists. — They would probably be too lazy to put the bars and fences up after them as 
they passed about the fariii, and after the cattle had destroyed the meadows, they would coolly 
confess th;it they lt>l\ the bars down on purpose, as they were cnnscicntiuuslij in fiivor oi' fret 
tratli'.. — They would soon set the farmers and their old and faithful servants by the ears, and 
finally, after having, under one pretence and another, obtained every spare dollar the farmers had 
lel\. and after having compelled them to mortgage their farms to pay their wages and the losses 
their own conduct had occasioned by the loss and destruction of their whole crop, they would cease 
work altogethi'r, and devote their whole time to the spreading of malicious reports abroad of the 
Bankruptcies of their employers, precisely as the pettifoggers in the Senate of the United States 
are now doing with regard to the individual Stales they represent, and which they themselves, in 
connection with the E.xeeutive, have reduced to their present impoverished condition. 

As ridiculous as the foregoing supposition may a|)pear, it is in reality not so ahsuril, as that we 
should confide all the great and complex interests of the country into the hands of these same 
men, who would bring such certain destruction on a business so comparatively simple as that of 
agriculture. 

To show more fully the danger of sending men to Congress who are ignorant of the common 
principles of trade and business generally, the writer will make a few extracts from the late 
speech of Mr. Walker of Mississippi in favor of the Sub-Treasury, one of the leading great men 
of the administration. Mr. Walker says — 

'■Tlie iinioHit of I ilior nuis" dpp-'nd upon Hip ninrkcts for its pro lucls. Tlic30 marljets are, FIRST the FOREIGN, 
enJ PECONDLY the DOMESTIC M.MtKETS." 

Mr. Walker ought to know tint the domestic market of this and of most other civilized countries, 
is probably equal to 15 or 'ZQ times the amount of the /orcjo'7t market. Again Mr. Walker says — 

" Th.' II t iiiMii I PKOI-M r»p >■! the i:i'i(inil i idintrv, is tli' truest m -asu e o;"lhjna.'io.ia' "■ai;w — and lliese PROP- 
IT.-^ are almost utterly anuiliil.Ueil liy the li.VMf I'API:R SYSTEM." 

To illustrate this idea of Mr. Walker's fully, we will suppose the present price of labor with 
board to be one dollar per d:iy — and flour to be worth eight dollars per barrel. A merchant goes 
into the market and purchases one thousand barrels of flour, costing in the aggregate 8,000 dol- 
lars. This he sendi abroad, ana receives the net sum of 10,000 dollars in return for it — therebj 
iiiaking a profit of '2') per rent, in his shipment, or 2)00 d ll:rs in the airrregate. 

We will now suppose the specie system to be adopted, the labor to fall to fifty cents per day, 



50 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

and the flour to fall to five dollars per barrel. This merchant now purchases the same quantity 
of flour for 5,000 dollars he formerly did for 8,000 dollars. This flour he sends to a foreign 
market and sells f jr 8,0!)() dollars net. The merchant now receives 3,000 dollars as his profit, 
or about .sixty per cent. This is the species of profits such men as Mr. Walker says enriches a 
country. What they mean is, that it enriches the capitalists — but in Yea.hty impmerislies the 
country, as shown in the preceding illustration, — the last of which goes to prove that on the 
1000 barrels of flour the capitalist, with less than two thirds the amount of capital used in the 
first instance, gains 1,000 dollars — the farmer and the laborer lose 3,000 dollars, one thousand 
of which is gained by the merchant ; the balance of 2,000 dollars is lost to the laborer or producer 
and the country at large. The decline in price of our own products of industry at home, must 
inevitably lower their value abroad — as in that case a sufficient quantity (provided we can fur- 
nish them) will inevitably be sent abroad to supply foreign markets at the lowest profits th(>y 
can be atforded. Competition in business will always produce this eflect. Mr. Walker again says : 
" By the official returns upon the files of tlie Senate, it appears tliat, from the ]st of October, 17S9, to 30tli Septom- 
ber, 1839, the totality of our exports was $;i,5.)7,829,951, and the totality of our imports during the same period, was 
§4,339,713, t)-19, bein^' an excess against us of imports over exports of S7Sl,&83,l 98; and this vast sum, approaching 
near one thousand millions of dollars, is, in truth, hut a p:;rt of the bounty paid to foreign industry by debasing our 
currency, and thus yielding up to them, to so vast an extent, both the foreign and domestic niarUet. In addition to 
this vast sum, the diminished exports, the decreased profits upon their sale, and the decreased products of every kind, 
will make the national loss from the bank paper system, at least two thousand millions of dollars. We have seen that 
the total excess of imports over exports, from ist October, 1789, to 3:ith September, JS39, was $781,883,(.98, the whole 
of which, except $l'Jt),l).w.0-21, occurred from 1791 till 1811, and liom 1816 till 1834, during the wretched career of the 
two Banks of the United States ; and with the exception of $7I,5L0,171, it may all bo truly said to have occurred 
during the dominion of a United States Hank, for the jiiesent United States Bank, under its new charter, has inflated 
prices, currency, and fictitious credit, tblly as much as any of its predecessors. One thing, however, is certain, that it 
is all the risult of our bank paper system. Another fact is also clearly proved, that neither the first Hamiltonian tarifi', 
nor the tariff of 1816, nor that of 1824, nor yet even that of 1898, arrested this ruinous excess of imports over exports. 
JNo, sir; it is not a high tariff that we want, but the most limited revenue duties with a .ypecie policy that is to rom- 
niand for us our owh, as well as foreign markets, that is to advance all interests, in every section of the Union, and 
make it the interest of all to encourage free trade." 

The writer does not remember of ever having seen a passage, in so small a compass, contain- 
ing so many absurdities as the foregoing extract from Mr. Walker's speech. With regard to the 
excess of imports over our exports, the writer has previously shown in his second communica- 
tion, that'the excess of imports over and above the profits of our exports, most if not all occurred 
at the two periods we were without a National Bank — which can readily be proved by refereitce 
to the Secretary of the Treasury's report. Mr. Walker seemingly laments the fact, that from 
the year 1789 to 1839, the imports into the United States had exceeded the exports $78l,883,6n8, 
— nearly ALL of which excess he says occurred '■• during the wretched career of the two B(i7tl;s 
of the United Stales." Now it seems the excess nf imports over our exports has been mo^^tly 
paid for in some way or other, as even Mr. Van Buren himself does not pretend to say we are 
indebted to foreign nations to exceed two hundred millions of dollars — which if the whole of 
this sum is deducted from the excess of imports, leaves a balance of 581,883,Gr8 dollars, a great 
part of which must have been paid for liy the PROFITS on our exports, and that too, as Mr. 
Walker says, wiien their price at home was inflated by the " icrttchtd liunks." 

Mr. Walker seems here to reverse his rule with "regard to " the net annual PROFIT upon 
the national industry being the truest measure of its gains," — but on the contrary seems to sup- 
pose irrcat profits to be a real loss. Is it not therefore evident that he is entirely ignorant of the 
subject he attempts to illustrate.' Mr. Walker attributes the greater part of this excess of im- 
ports to the "wretched United States Bank." The writer is happy to have it in his power to 
show how a part of this ruinous excess of imports over our exports occurred, with wliieh the 
United States Bank could have had hut little to do. 

Some years since, during llie wars of Bolivar, the writer well remembers that a ship sailed 
from New York with 1,000 barrels of flour on board bound to the Pacific ocean. The flour cost in 
New York five dollars per barrel, or 5,000 dollars I'or the whole cargo. The ship arrived atCalhio, 
(the port of Lima, tlie capital of Peru,) immediately after a blockade of that port had been raised. 
The flour sold f/r one, lumdred diilhirs per harrel, the sales amounting in the aggregate to 100,(100 
dollars. The imports in this ca.se exceeded the exports to the amount of '15,000 dollars, which 
agreeably to Mr. Walker's last rule, was a loss to the United States to that same amount. 

Admitting that Mr. Van Buren's assertion is true, that the United States is indebted to foreign 
nations to the amount of two hundred millions of dollars, Mr. Walker's statements may be best 
explained by imbodying them in an account current as follows — 

United, Stat(S in Account icilh. Foreign JVations i DR. 

For this amount oi' imports received from all fortign countiies from the 1st of Oct. 1789, to the 30th of 

idept. 18;;9, amounting to $4,339,713,649 

(as per Mr. Walker's statements.) 

United States in Account with Foreign JVntiovs, CR. 

For the amount of exports at their cost in the Uiiiird Slair.i, from the 1st of Oct. 17t9, to the 30tli of 

Se|it. IK39, amounting to $3,557,829,951 

(as per .Vlr. Walker's statements.) 
To freight of the products of European nations and their rolonies, done by .American shipping for 

about 20 years durini; the long w rs iifN polenn, {ws iirrrerd .siune liiiir) 100,000,000 

Amount allowed Ilia United Stales by agreeinenls at various times with Ihe merchants and traders for 

freiL'ht and profit oi px|)OrtR, aironnts as agreed to 4S1,883,C98 

Amount due by the Uniled States lo I'oreigiiii.ilinns ihis day, the 'Mlh of Dec. 18:19, as per Mr. Van 

Buren's message 200,1100,000 

$4,339,713,649 



BY A LABORING MAN. 51 

Goods and Sjiccie on Hand in the United States this Day, included in the above Account, hut not yet disposed cf. 
Amount of spcnic, according to Mr. Tliomns H. Benton's stiitnnicnt, (ho being the head clerk of tlio 

specie dejiirtinent,) now un Imnil, Sy!',OUO,Unn. 

From which deduct iiinount on hand Isi (Jet. 17^9, 5 millions, ,«8."),nOO,0(!0 

Silk Velvet iind other ornaments for the republican pcople'it Chair of stale, in the House of Ueprescn- 

latives, as per .Mr. Speaker I'olk's account, uhicli was paid by the people 2,500 

(siiid chair being nearly as good as new.) 
One English carriage, liveries and ornamental furniture for Mr. Vnn Buren, the people's candidate 

(nearly new) S-'ijOOil 

Cotton and woollen goods), silks, ribbons, toys, wine, chessmen, l)nckgamnion boards, chandeliers, and 

a. variety of other useful and ornajnental articles, now in the hands of dealers and storekeepers, and 

mostly new, estimated ut 75,003,000 

Total, SIGO,0a7,.'i0O 

Which sum deduct from amount due foreign nations, as jier .Mr. Van Buren's message .'5fiOO,0;)0,(l)'l 

Deduct goods on lian.l mO,0«7,r.03 

i5;J9,973,5'JU 

For the balance of 39,973,.'S()0 dollars the people of the United State.s havinn; nothing to show, 

but a parcel of trorlliless canals, railroad.s, steainhoats, niaiuifactories, " Marhle Banks," &c. &c. 

NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Now|>ort, R. I., Herald of the Times, March 25, 1840.] 



Mr. Van Burin's " False System,^'' as displaijcd in his false Statements to deceive 

the People, continued. 

Extract from Mr. Van Biirrn's Mcsaoire of Dec. 2i, 183D. (Repeated.) 

" From the results of i1i(|uirios made by the Secretary of tlie Treasury, in regard to the practice among tliem, \ am 
pnabled to state, that in twenty-two out of twenty-seven /nrcin-ri o'ojj/T/unenfs, irom which undoubted information has 
been obtained, the public moneys are kept in clnrge of pnlilic oflicers. This concurrence of opinon in favor of that 
system, is perhaps us great as exists on any question of internal administration." 

Extract from Mr. Secretary Woodbury's Report. (Repeated.) 

" Out of twenty-seven iTOvernmenti, in respoct to which accurate statements have bnen obtained, and which include 
ulmost every IMi'OKTA.'VT CIVILIZED coHiitrij in the world, — twenty-six seem to proliil)it any private use of the 
Iiubll? money, either by collecting or disbursing agents. — In six cases only do the deposit agents appear t« be allowed 
the use of pu'jiic funds, and that is oily when tliose agents are BANKS," and the money is placed with tliein in general 
dep )sit. — In a great majority of thosa govcrnm;nts, th3 employment of public funds for private jiiirpo'es liy any 
agents whatever, is nut only prohibited, but pu'iisbeil bv severe penalties, such as imi)risonnienf, or the (J.M.I.HYS, 
the I'ENITKNTIARV, and in some instances DEATH." 

If Mr. Van Buren is really ignorant of the fact, the writer would inform him, that if he will 
recur one or two centuries back in the history of mankind, he will find a much greater " cnurnr- 
rr.nrc " in the mode then practised by '■forciirn rrdrfrninnits," with regard to the keeping of the 
" public moneys," than even at present. He will find that until liberty made some considerable 
progress in the worU, " the public monnjs " were always kept in the hands of the tyrants and 
their officers — and that our forefathers in England, were the first to wrench this powerful weapon 
from the hands of tiie king, which has been imitated by other nations in Europe just in propor- 
tion as the liberty of the people has advanced, and the power of their rulers has declined. 

The writer has now before him the official returns relating to these ••foreign irovcrnmenfs," 
as reported to the Senate by Mr. Woodbury. — From an e.xamination of these returns, the writer 
thinks he can conclusively show, that Mr. Van Buren and his faithful Secretary Mr. Woodhiiry, 
have either made slranire mistakes or are most egregiously ignorant of the geography of tho 
world. — It appears by Mr. Woodbury's own confession, that without any legislation of Congress 
on the subject, he had on the 7lh of August, 1S".>S, addressed circulars to most of" our ron.mis at 
the most important ports in foreign countries," requesting them to answer (in the language of 
one of tlie consuls) a " string of (picslions" relative to the luodo of collecting, keeping, and ilis- 
bursing the public moneys as adopted or practised by the governments under which they resided. 

On the 4lh of Jan. 183!1, Mr. Van Buren's friends in the Senate, after having privately re- 
solved that their ruaster, (to u.so his own language on a former occasion, as before quoted, ) the 
President, could '• rule as easily, and much more serurrli/, with than rrilhont the nominal cheek of 
(/ic .SVff,f;<«," proceeded fartli(>r, and /»/&//>/?/ resf>lved — "That tlie Secretary of the Treasury be 
directed to communicate to the Senate any authentic information he may recently have received 
•n respect to the modes of keepin? and disbursinof public moneys \n foreign countries." 

On the 31st of Jan. 1S39, Mr. Silas Wright made a report to the Senate of Mr. Woodbury's 
'Cport — containing the answers he had received from tlic U. States consuls abroad up to thai 
date, as follows — 

Jamaica, Cuba, Ilaiuburg, Bremen, France. London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin. 

The letter of Mr. .Aspinwall, tho consul at London, the Capital of tlv greatest and wealthiest 
nation on earth, — is contained in three paeres. The reply to Mr. Woodbury by Mr. Brent, 
consul at Paris, the Capital of the second nation in importance in Europe, is contained in one 



52 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

jx-'gc. The answer of Mr. Trist, consul at Havana, the Capital of a provincial Island of Spain, 
wliich is perhaps ihe most impoverished and degraded Christian country on eartli, occupies 
SIXTY-EIGHT PAGES. 

The writer remembers, when quite youn§, being forcibly struck upon reading- the account 
given by some, traveller of the inscriptions on a stone wliich was placed on the suiiuait ol'tlie 
Pyrenees mountains, to denote the bcjundary line between France and Sjiain. — Spain was at 
that time, as it is now, a weak, impoverished and degraded nation. France was then, as it is 
r.ow, one of the most wealthy and powerful nations of Europe. The Spanish side ol' the stone 
was inscribed and emblazoned with every species of bombast and hioji soundrng- titles and 
phrases setting forth tlie greatness and importance of the Spanish monarch and liis liingdoui. — 
On the French side of the stone was simply inscribed the ancient name of France, in four letters, 
"GAUL." — The circumstance had been nearly forgotten until upon reading consul Bjenl's 
short letter, and comparing it with consul Trist's long list of emblazonry, the inscriptions on 
the stone of the Pyrenees were forcibly recalled to the memory of the writer. 

On the 27th of January, lb4U, Mr. Wright made a further report of Mr. Woodbury's rfport, 
which he informs tlie Senate " are additions to information \ipon the same subject laid before 
tiie Senate, and printed by its order during its last seasion." These returns are liom the follow- 
ing places, viz : 

Jamaica, Bourdeaux, Cassel, Carlhagena, 

Cuba, Vienna, Munich, Paramaribo, 

Hamburg, Berlin, Genoa, L;iguira, 

Bremen, Elbertield, Leghorn, Peinambuco, 

France, Stockholm, Naples, St. Salvador, 

London, Copenhagen, Constantinople, Rio Janeiro, 

Liverpool, Antwerp, Smyrna, Montevideo, 

Glasgow, Frankfort, Mexico, Equator, 

Dublin, Lei])sic, Tampico, Halifax. 

These Mr. Woodbury declares to be all the official returns received, and out of tiiese Mr. 
Van Buren has managed to select T\\'K^t\-'&'e\tl^ •• foreign gorcrninaits." It is evident that 
they (Mr. Woodbury and Mr. Van Buren) do not consider each of these individual cities or 
Islands as constituting a ^'fureign gorcrnmtmt'' of itself, because in that case, they would make 
the number amount to :i(J, instead of twenty-seven, as they stale. — Again, if the provincial 
governments are counted, the number will not correspond with Mr. Van Buren's and Mr. 
Woodbury s estimates. In an •' abstract " in which Mr. Woodbury has condensed the returns 
of the Consuls, it would appear that he had attempted to classify and to designate those coun- 
tries he considered "fortdgn guvernmants," by thvii being placed in italics, as follows — Great 
Briltiin (ind Irrluiiil, France, jJuslrid, Prussia, Sweden, Prussia, Dcnmurii, Belgium, Germany, 
Saxony, Klecturalc of Hesse Cassel, Bavaria, Italy, Eiirnpean Turkey, Jisiadc Turkey, Mexico, jVew 
Grenada, Surinam, Venezvela, Brazil, Uriiguuy, Equator, and JYaca. Scotia. But this arrange- 
ment fiuls in producing the magic number 27 — as it makes but 24 •^foreign gurerntntuts " in 
all. And moreover by this classification, Mr. Woodbury has deranged the whole balance of 
power on the three continents. He has created a new kingdom of Prussia. He has dismem- 
bered the I'urkish Empire by splitting it in two. — He has disorganized Germany. — He has im- 
bodied all the independent states of Italy into one '■•foreign goccrnvtent," and to cap the climax, 
Mr. Woodbury has dismembered the British Empire, and has created a '■'■foreign government" 
out of l\w Kingdom of A^oru Scotia. It does really apprar that Mr. Woodbury knows as little 
of History and Geography, as he does of finance, and that Mr. Van Buren is in the same pre- 
dicament, unless they wilfully concocted the report of the Consular returns for the express pur- 
pose of mystifying and deceiving the people. 

In I'xamining Mr. Woodbury's "Abstract" of the returns of the Consuls, the writer was 
reminded of an anecdote told of a boy in Hartford, who left tlie town one fine suinmer's morning 
with a quantity of hats, to dispose of in the neighboring CDuntry. Alter riding all day, he 
returm-d in the evening, and with an air of great importance depicted on his countenance, 
gravely remarked to his master, '•that, lie had no idea the world icas so extcns ve." 

Mr. Wooilbury seems to have suddenly become acquainted with the same fact, and appears 
totally b)st in contemplating it<i immensitj'. As near as the writer can get at the number of 
independent '■• foreign governments,'" contained in Mr. Woodbury's two reports to Congress, 
tiiev amount tn Itrenly-three onl}', when all told, and are as follows : — 
•/ GREAT BRITAIN AND IREEAND, FRANCE, AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, SWEDEN, 
. Dknmakk, Bkloiijm, llamlnirg, Frankfort, Bremen, S.wony, //fi'4T Cu.v.s-f/, Bavaria, Sardinia, 
Tuscany, jVaplcs, TvnKK\, Mexico, Bkazii., Uruguay, (or JMonlcvidcc,) Ff/uator, .Xcw Grcn-da, 
and Fenezne.l.a. B(!s;des these there is the Island of Cm/iw, belonging to Spain — and is not 
therefore included in any of the twenty-three "■foreisrn i>overnme.nts" named ; but. as that Island 
has become tlie Beau Ideal ei'Mr. Bi'iilc)ii and the friends of .Mr. V;in Buren, and is constantly 
being paraded befliro the American jieoplc as a pattern wortliy of their imilntitm, it is perhaps 
ri'jfht t') admit it to count one among the ■'■foreign governments," which makes their whole num- 
ber twenty-four instead of twenty-seven, as Mr. Van IJuren states, but which is probably as 
near the truth as he can conveniently ap[)roiieh. Shoiiljl the writer, however, be mistaken in the 
clas.siflcation of the '■• foreign govcrnnunts," he slumld be glad to be informed of any mistakes, 
and would do all in his power to correct them. It is jierhaps known to most that it is a promi- 



BY A LABORING MAN. 53 

ncnl foaturo in. tlic Sub-Treasury l)ill, lately passed in the Senate of the United SUtos, that after 
a certain specified time nothing- whati'vcr is to be joccived for public dues of any kind, except 
gold and silver coin — no paper whatever, not even tnasurj iiulcs or govcrnmciU paper ! — 
These returns have been obtained from our Consuls, and are paraded b}' Mr. Van Buren before 
the people, as an inducement for tlieni to be willing to adopt this Sub-Treasury bill, and aa 
proving that most other nations are now living under the operations of a similar state of things 
that itTs calculated to produce. So fiir from this, it appears by Mr. Woodbury's official reports 
that, with tiie exception of Turknj, which is neither a Christian nor civilized country, there are 
but six countries or independent governments in Europe where this slate of things exists in fully 
and they are most of ihem among tlie smallest governments known. The only six governments, 
in fact, in Europe, where specie is eidiisicdij required for public dues, as shown by Mr. NVood- 
bury himself, are Hamburg, Bremen, Hesse Cassel, Sardinia, Tuscany and Frankfort, containing 
in tile aggregate not over :i-^,000 square miles, or when all the six countries are put togetiier, 
they are about one half as large as some of our individual states, and also contain in the aggre- 
gate but 5,90^2,000 inhabitants — about 07ic liocntij-cisr/uh part of the population of Europe only. 

Tlie writer will now attempt to give a slight sketch of the most prominent characteristics of 
these ^'■forcioii governments," in order that the reader who has not previously had an opportunity 
to acquire sutlicient information to judge of tlie deceptive character of Mr. Van Buren s and Mr. 
Woodbury's allusions to them, may be better qualified to give their statements the weight they 
deserve, commencing with the exclusive specie countries. 

First — Hamburg is one of the free cities of Gcrmanj', one of tiie old Hanseatic league in 
Lower' Saxony, seated on the north bank of the Elbe river. This '■•foreign government" is 
probably about the size of a tolerable Kenlueky farm, and contains 115,000 inhabitants. The old 
Hamburg Bank was established in this city, in 1610. 

Mr. John CuUibert, the American Consul at that place, informs Mr. Woodbury, that 

" Tlie financiil system of Hani')urg is, as far .as is known, very siinplo, as may I>b suppo'^ud from so small a territory. 
The wliolo iiiiiount of llie H.uiibur^ coined money, is uliuu: fonr und u liulf uiilliuns of marks current, or une miUwn 
two htindrel anl cig.'Uy-two Ikotisand fine ImndreU dJlars ; (llie odd cents arc not •riccu ;) ;uid except under viry extr.ior- 
din iry cir nim-liin>;es, not more than one Itulf o( that amount is in circulution, and all duties, taxes, and cxrise vtit-tt !:a 
piiiil in Hamburg currency. 7Ve consequence is, t'tat it incariaUlij conunaiuls a praniani of ON£i to 'I'URliE per 
•centum." 

Mr. Cuthbcrt also says that the person receiving this money from government seldom circu- 
lates it, but takes it to a money changer or broker, and sells it for other money, which passes 
amonir the people at par. This is a Sub-Trcasurij Bank, on a small scale, to be sure, but still u 
is a Suh-Trcasitry Bank. 

It will however be seen that in so small a territory, even a limited amount of a specie currency 
would be sutliciont to make a great amount of exclungcs, as the sr.mc sum could be used eight 
or ten times in one day to pay dirterent debts or amounts; whereas in an extensive country, liko 
the United States, a man who, for instance, living in Boston, and wishing to purchase a piece of 
land in Illinois, would collect his specie, (say 10;)0 dollars,) and keep it out nf circulatlim perhaps 
for six months before he purchased and paid for his land. This si:iie lOilO dollars in so small a 
place as Hmiburg, would in that time have perhaps paid one million dollars of debts — or made 
exchanges to that amount. 

The amount of currency necessary for a country, depends as much upon the extent of terri- 
tory its business is dilFused over, as it does on the amount of business done or the number of ita 
inhabitants. This is again aff.'cted by the facilities of travelling, and the consequent means 
possessed by the people of making quick remittances. Were there no railroads or steamboats 
in the United States, it would probably require double the amount of currency it now does to do 
the same business. Currency represents the value of every article of use, and it bears the same 
relative position to the wealth of a nation, as do the tools of a mechanic or a flirmer to t/ieir 
wealth, which are worth nothing in themselves only as they are applied to other useful 
purposes. 

A farmer requires a wagon to carry his grain to market, as mucli as he does a currency to 
get his pay for it when sold. Provided he lives one mile from market, ho will perhaps get six 
loads of grain there in one day ; if he lives six miles from market, he will require six wagons to 

fet as much grain carted in\he same tiaie as before ; and precisely so as it regards a currency. — 
f, fir instance, a merchant in New York has a payment to make in the city, he draws his check 
in the morning and pays the debt. — The person receiving the check again pays other debts 
with it, and so on to perhaps ten times the amount of the first check, in the same d.ay- Tlie 
same merchant having fundi lying in St. Louis, gives his drat"t for the amount. Tlie money at 
St. Louis consequently lies idle until the draft reaches there, the time of wliicli may be varied 
by tlie facilities of communication. — Without railroads or steamboats it would probably be three 
times or more as long in reaching St. Louis as at present, and consequently require three times 
the amount of currency to do the same amount of business. Those men v.'lio look at things in 
their true light, and whose minds are sufficiently expanded to understand llie relative bearing 
tlie great moving principles of a countrv's prosperity have on each other, will readily perceive 
tint in the simple saving of currency alme, the railroads, canals, steamboats and other iiicilitlea 
which have grown out of our •' False Sjs'cm," as Mr. Van Buren calls it, will more than com,- 
pensate fir their whole cost. From the fa'.ilitics also of remittance a paper currency possesses 
over a specie one, the reader will readily comprehend the great advantages it possesses, especially 
for distant payments. — There is also a corresponding tendency in a contracted specie currency to 



54 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

cautrurt the minds of the communities using it, which renders it far less efficient in making ex- 
changes. For instance, Squire Hunks shall have in his desk one hundred dollars in specie, and 
also one hundred dollars of sound bank bills, which he considers as good as specie, and which he 
can readily obtain for them by riding two miles to the Bank. — Nevertheless, sucli is the nature 
of man, that he will readily lend his one hundred dollars in paper to his neighbor, when at the 
same time, rather than part witli his specie, he would probably tell a direct falsehood, and deny 
having it; more especially as, if it was known he kept specie by him, it might excit(^ the cupidi- 
ty of bad men to rob his house. — This last circumstance is of itself a powerful argument against 
a specie currency. It is much better to prevent crime than to punish it. Men are by nature , 
weak, and liable to temptation, and thousands of murders and robberies would occur were the 
people of this country in the habit of keeping their money in their houses instead of the Banks. 
It has often been stated, that the convicts of man}' of the small principalities and kingdoms of 
Germany, are sent regularly to this country, there being contractors who agree to deliver them 
here for so much per head — about 2o to 30 dollars each person. These convicts, to a man, are 
in favor of a specie currency, if the writer is not rei-ij muck mistaken, and pcriodicall}' hurrah lor 
'^ Jurkson,^' " Van Buren,," " Bc/itoii," and " Down with the Bunks." 

2nd — BREMEN is a duchy of Germany, in the circle of Lower Saxony. It formerly 
belonged to the Swedes, but was ceded to the elector of Hanover in 1719. It contains :2,100 
square miles, and the population amounts to about 170,000, which includes the city of Bremen, 
its capital, which stands on the Weser river, and has a population of 40,000. Rlr. Joshua Dodge, 
United States Consul at Bremen, writes Mr, Woodbury that •' in the free and Hanseatic Qity of 
Bremen, and the small territory thereunto belonging, all taxes and duties composing the revenue 
of the state are always collected in cash, and all the laws respecting the same mention that the 
amount must be paid in gold, meaning the Bremen currency." Mr. Dodge also says that the 
surplus revenue, " which for the moment may not be wanted, he (the Treasurer) deposits, for 
account of the slate, with the deposit and discount oflice, and takes it back when wanted for 
disbursements. The deposit and discount ofhce of this city, called discount casse, is a kind of 
bank established here by a number of private shareholders, who take dej)osits of money, and 
discount bills of exchange, and who, with a capital stock of 600,000 rix dollars, are responsible for 
the money deposited with them." 

The territory of Bremen is considerably less than one half the size of the State of Connecticut. 

2rd — Hesse Cassel is a small German state, containing 4,350 square miles, being somewhat 
less than the State of Connecticut. Its population amounted to 545,000 in 1(^17. 

Baronsfield, the acting United States Consul at this place, writes Mr, Woodbury — that "the 
collection of public revenues is always ell'ected in ready money, either in gold or silver, both, 
however, according to a lawful tariff; therefore no particular guidance is required in that respect 
from the public autiiorities." 

Perhaps the best commentary upon the "foreign government" of Hesse Cassel as a pattern 
for the United States, will be simply to say, that it is the German state from which the British 
government hired the soldiers called Hessians, employed against the Americans during the revo- 
lutionary war. — If the writer remembers rightly, they were let to the King of England for five 
pounds sterling per head, for each year they were kept in his service, and the King of England 
was bound to pay about twenty-live pounds sterling or 120 dollars ibr each soldier killed in 
battle. These soldiers were raised by draft, and were valued by this "foreign government'' at 
about t!ie price of an ordinary horse mr//. This is Mr. Van Buren's " PATTERN " "/orcj^t 
goccrniucut " for America. " lloio arc the migldtj fullcn! " 

Ath — Sardinia is a Kingdom of Italy, consisting of the Island of Sardinia, Piedmont, Savoy, 
Nice, Genoa, and some other small territories — the Sardinian States contain in all 21 ,CG2 square 
miles and 3,980,000 inhabitants. — Turin is the capital. 

Mr. Robert Campbell, United States Consul at Genoa, writes — " The revenue of this country 
is collected by persons appointed by the King, and is paid in the current coin of the state; that 
is, in silver and gold, /or we have NO BANK vor any sort of paper numry.'' 

"There are no pa mp/ih'ts or books on this subject; indeed it is not likely that the gorrinnmt 
tcuuld permit any thing of this sort." 

This is another specie pattern of a "■ foreign government " for us Americans — the people are not 
even allowed, it seems, to turn their " rags " into books, while we have gone so far as to turn our 
•■ rags " into money. The writer passed througli a great part of Sardinia some time since, and 
witnessed daily more poverty and wretcjiedness than he had seen in his \yhole previous life in 
the United States. There was not a village he passed, but what was swarming with ragged 
beggars. If a penny was thrown to them, they would collect in crowds from all quarters, im- 
mediately, and absolutely obstruct the passage of the horses. Tlie roads were lined with beg- 
gars, men, women and children. In this •' foreign government " there are no banks, vo manvfac- 
tories, vo railroads, and no canals, io "burden" the people with a "false system," and they 
enjoy all the blessings of a " Sub-tkea.siiky " in perfection — and yet the writer can truly say, 
that lie scarce saw a well-dressed farmer or laborer, in riding some hundreds of miles along the 
winding shore of the Mediterranean through this Kingdom, The officers of government were 
as thick in every village as ofice-seeker.i are at Washington, and wer(> always gatidily dressed, 
mcstly in uniform, and were evidently looked upon, by the people generally, as a superior race 
of licings to themselves. 

Madiime Stark, a lady who passed many years in different parts of Italy, and whose writings 
are highly uj)proved of, in speaking of some parts of Sardinia, says, " The children look un- 



BY A LABORING MAN. 55. 

healthy, and seem to bo wholly occupied by watching piirs and goats, and followinjr mules and 
carriages, to collect dung for manure : tiie food of these poor mountaineers is ckcstnut bread, hog's 
lard, and snow water, and when the chestnuts fail, famine ensues." 

Not only arc the poor so oppressed in this specie country, iiut the writer has been informed 
(and lias no doubt of its truth) tliat the pro|)rictor of the soil, or Landlords, in some districts had 
seriously determined to abandon their lands to the government, unless they could obtain a re- 
duction of ta.\es, as even after grinding the poor tenants to death, they did not in many instances 
receive enough rent to pay their taxes. A man in Sardinia, and in Italy generally, wlio has prop- 
erty, never works himself; and the writer was frequently amused, both in this and other Italian 
states, in seeing the astonishment depicted in the countenances of the ragged bystanders upon his 
occasionally assisting iu some slight work with his own hands. The wages of labor are not only 
exceedingly low, but there is not work at any price for a great part of the iiopulalion. The 
government discourages all kinds of business that tend to elevate or enrich the people, and seeks 
to keep tiicm in a degraded and ignorant condition, that they may be contented in their state of 
servitude and poverty. A strantrcr was a short time since imprisoned in Sardinia for more than 
a year for simply lending a subject of that ''fort:i<ru gor-crnrncnt " a Bible, and was only relieved 
by the interference of the government of which he was a subject. Superficial ob.';ervers are too 
apt to conclude that tlie manufacturing business creates the miserable population that frequently 
crowd the large manufacturing towns in Kurope. Not so; it simply furnishes fm/;/o(/)«<?/U for 
that description of people, and they therefore resort to the manutiicturing districts in search 
of tiie means to live, which are denied them cJsr.wherc. When congregated in large masses, 
there is apparently a greater amount of misery, than when scattered over the whole surface of a 
country ; but it is probable the average of individual sufl'ering is not so great at the same time. 
The writer frequently remarked while in Italy, that he believed the whole clothing of Europe 
(so far as the manufacture of it went) might be made by the population of Italy without costing 
in reality one cent, there being enough idle peo[)le, who could not get work at any price, to make 
all the goods necessary. These people live in some way on the public, whether they work or 
not; and it is doubtful if they would not be much happier if they had employment than they 
are at present, even should they receive but little or nothing more than the amount of their 
present miserable and precarious maintenance as their compensation. The very best laborers in 
Sardinia get in the summer season but from 12 to 18 cents per day, and board themselves. The 
appearance of their houses is scjualid and miserable in the extreme. The people on the coast 
wash their clothes in the Mediterranean sea, and spread them on the stones of the beaches to 
dry. — An American who has not been an eye-witness can have no idea of the wretched, rag- 
ged appearance of the linen and other garments when thus spread to dry. For some time tiie 
writer mechanically averted his eyes as he passed these poor people in the act of washing their 
clothes, well knowing the effect which would have ba*n produced on the feelings of the poorest 
American, should a stranger have remarked in their case such extremity of poverty; but he 
soon found that the Italians possessed no sensibility of this kind. Misery and penury had 
crushed every natural feeling of pride, and their countenances underwent no visible change, 
whether they noticed the stranger gazing on the tattered garments of the people or on the splen- 
did equipages or palaces of their princes. — Squalid women were seen knitting straw by the 
road side, with their children lashed fast to a board or stick of, wood, and set up against a wall 
as stationary as a pair of tongs. That a specie currency has wholly produced this state of things, 
the writer does not pretend to assert, but that such a state of things co7ild hare hcen produced, 
without its aid, is at the same time very doulilfiil in his mind. At any rate, he trusts enough has 
been shown to prove, that the '\foretgn gocernment" of Sardinia is hardly a SUITABLE PAT- 
TEniV to be imitated by AMERICA, notwithstanding Mr. Van Burcn's recommendation to the 
contrary. 

NARRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, R. I., Herald of the Times, April 2, 1840.] 

No. 8. 

Mr. Van Burcn's "Foreign Government'' "PATTERNS" continued; ivith 
some Remarks on the Treasurif independent of the People. 

'^th — Ttrsc.\Nv is a Grand Duchy of Italy, whoso sovereign is of the house of Austria. It is 
about r20 miles in length, and 80 in breadth, and contains 0.128 square miles, and I.1.S'2,00() in- 
habitants. Florence is its capital, and is situated on both sides of the river Arno, with a popula- 
tion of 80,000. — Leghorn (or Livorno) is the principal seaport in Tuscany, and is situated on 
the Mediterranean Sea, and contains about 7.5.000 inhabitants. 

Mr. Thomas Appleton, United States consul at Leghorn, writes Mr. Woodbury that 

" .'\s i;i Tus(-;\ny lliero oxisN no Xitioinl lieSl, th-re exi^t^ no Nationnl pdji r currency : of course the revenue of 
the covcrnmcnt is .s-o/Wi/ in xpecic. — Tins single nrtii-je of |iormnncnt t ixiitioii is rral r>i(i'c : every lialiitation or ware- 
Iiou'^o in the city is eslimateil at its annual value to the owner, ami on this rent, and which crrtainly is iierer /<■*.« than 
itrj real product, the tax is affixed, which in Leghorn is 17 per cmt. on the annu il amount oftlie rent of each hahitablo 
huililing or warehouse ; thu>, if nnmnaUy pro lu'ing $111 rent, ,«;I7 are dii- to the Goveriiinont. The Collector of the 
t'u<tonis is ilii> ironer.il receiver of all tax 'S. The taved are compelled to carry an I pntj, cvrnj thrrc mmit'i-; azreatet 

pirt of the tot il annual <inrn to the collector, and this under the penally of percent, for crrrT/ rfflr/del ived ; and 

this exactitude of payment is rigoroiLsly required. As all sums are very speedily withdrawn by tho government of Flor- 



56 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

«nce, any misuse of the money by the Collector would be attended with dismissal from office, and whatever other 
puiiisliiiient the Qrand Duke miglit judge j)rui)cr to iiitlict, for IllS WILL U ABSOLUTE ; thus there is no expense 
to the government fur collection. There is, however, another revenue to the Grand Dulie, which is a tax on every 
article consumed in t!ic city, even to vc^elahlen, which is piiiil at the jjates of tlie city, and dally c irrjed to the receiver 
of tlie Customs. All merchandise which enters by sea is free from tax.ition to the inlial)itants of the rity, being a free 
port ; but when carried into the interior, the tax is paid at the gates of tlie town, to the substitutes of the receivi r of 
the Customs, anil paid into the hands of the latter. I know of no chocks on these suborilintites, hut daily icsiionsibility 
renders fraud difficult of continuation. The revenue of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, by taxation, is about six millions 
of dollars, the population being a little over a million of subjects." 

The present Grand Duke of Tuscany is considered a liberal-minded man — and does not seem 
disposed to use his unlimited powers to wantonly oppress his subjects — but still there is a vast' 
deal of suffering in his dominions. In the year 183-5, many thousands of people died in the 
mountainous districts of Tuscan}' from famine, occasioned by the failure of the usual crop of 
chestnuts. The whole people were so poor that they had nothing to spare to send abroad, and 
import from other countries food to sustain life — and being unacquainted with the principles or 
meaning of credit, they had no other resource of relief from their sufferings but death. — Had 
these poor people been subjected to the " burdens imposed " by a '• False systctn " of " Credit, 
Cfin/cs, and Rags,'' they would probably have been able to have supplied theiuselves with food 
from Sicily or some other grain-growing country. In former times, before commerce and credit 
had made much progress in the vv^orld, a shortness of food in any particular neighborhood was 
universal!}' attended with the most disastrous consequences. In most civilized countries, the 
worst evils arising froin any accidental or providential failure of crops, are now mostly done 
away with, as there is generally a surplus raised in some quarter, which is readily transported to 
the point or points where it is most needed. — The writer well remembers, that in about the year 
ISlt), nearly the whole corn crop in New England was cut off by an early frost, which waa 
followed by much suffering among the people. At that time, but little manufacturing business 
was done, and the people had but little surplus to expend towards supplying the contingent 
want of bread-stuffs. Indian corn was sold at two dollars per bushel, and potatoes at fifty cents 
per bushel. Potatoes and barley were the principal food used by a. grral munij families. 

In about the years 1836 and 1837, a still greater shortness of the corn crop occurred, antjl 
extended over the whole British provinces in North America ; over all New England, and a 
great part of the State of New York. The loss of the crop in New England alone, probably 
amounted to at least ten millions of bushels. 

There are about 60,000 square miles in the six New England States, or about 38,400,000 
acres — allowing one half of which to be improved, and we have li'.200.()n0 acres enclosed. — 
Again, allowing each farmer who improves 100 acres to plant five acres with corn, and we have 
1)60,000 acres, which, at twelve bushels to the acre, (probably about the average.) produces over 
10,000,000 bushels of corn 3'early — which is probably less than the annual aggregate of the 
ordinary crop of Indian corn raised in New England. This crop, with the exception of what 
grew on a few sea-coast and island farms, was entirely cut off — so that the people were obliged 
to be supplied from abroad with bread-stuffs ; and 3'et such was the spur that had been given to 
commerce by our " False s3'st(Mn," that corn was freely brought in from abroad and sold for one 
dollar fiity cents per bushel, and that too at a time when the people were able to purchase it 
freely, notwithstanding the " hurdrns imposed upon them" by the '■'■False system" of JNlr. Van 
Buren; and nothing w.is heard of their being reduced to living on barley and potatoes, as in the 
previous famine. In 1837 the writer remembers eating bread in Worcester county, in Massa- 
chusetts, which was made of corn iiiiported Irpm Alexandria in Egj'pt, and afforded to the con- 
sumer in New England at one dollar and fifty cents per bushel. I'his was probably a less ];rice 
than it cost the patriarch .Jacob to have it brought from the same country, only a few days' 
journey, iti the earlier days of commerce, when credit, railroads, steamboats, and banks were 
unknown, and when the people enjoyed all the blessings of a specie currency. 

In tlie war that has been waged for the last 10 or 12 years, both by the present and past 
administrations, and their adherents, against the Banks, Railroads, and other works and insti- 
tutions that tend to elevate and enrich the great body of the people, the prejudices of the latter 
have been appealed to with regard to the importation of foreign grain, and the charge has been 
repeatedly made by demagogues in their official capacity, that its necessity was caused from the 
circumstance of so many laborers being taken from agriculture, and employed on the railroads 
and canals. — Now, so far from the evil having been produced by this cause, the facts are as have 
been slated — and are known to be so to all who have taken pains to inform themselves — that the 
whole corn crop was cut off by unfavorable weather, not onl}' throughout New England, but 
over a great part of New York state, and all the British provinces in North America, and in 
short tliroughout the world to the north of about 41 degrees of north latitude. Had all tlie spare 
laborers in the world been employed in raising corn, in these sections, it would not have varied 
llie result — as any additional quantity planted must have inevitably shared the same fate. On 
the contrary, the corn and the wheat crops at the west (particularly the latter) were never 
known to have been greater than they were the season the ci.rn crop entirely failed at the east 
and north. — And it was these rcrij canals complained of, and other facilities growing out of the 
" F(dsc System,'' that enabled the people at the east to avail themselves of the superabundance 
at the west, to such an extent that, although the deficiency of the corn crops in New England 
and in New York could not have amounted in value to much, if any, less than the sum of 
$2 1,000,000, the whole amount of grain imported from foreign countries over and above the grain 
exported at the same time, did not much exceed one million dollars, for the year la37, which was 



BY A LABORING MAN. 57 

the year when the greatest deficiency occurred If the class of men who affected so much com- 
niisi-ration for the suft'-riiigs of" the •' dear people" on account of tlie deficiency of brcad-stuifa, 
would Ji:ive, one and all, adopted thi' plan to have eaten no more th>in tlirij tlir.in.sciecs produced, or 
hiiiicsl ij tinned, the writer is satisti.'d, from clost^ observation, that the whuje evil would have beea 
remedied, and we should I'.ave had bread enoojrli and to spare without the necessity of import- 
\ng a siii^r'e -rraiii — although it would probably have been at the sucriiice of the lives, bij sLuT' 
villi III, oj at least three (juiirters of the ojjife-src'.irs, ojji e-holdem, and political dcinairugiirs in the 
country, from Martin Van Buren downward, and who yearly inilict j^realer evils on tiic country 
111. in all the famines have ever done since its fust setlleun'iil to tlie present day. Tlie writer 
firmly bel;eves that there is no law in existence that has a more beneficial efiect on society, of 
that tend.i njore to preserve the best institutions of our country, than the pa.ssmjf of a law would 
have, makinjr otHce-seeking a criminal offence, and punishable by fine and iniprisouinent. A 
cuiijinnal oJ[jicc--:caker shjuld be considered in the same liglit as a coiijirmal diiuilnird, and ha 
should be placed in a situation where he could no longer disturb the peace of society, and at the 
sami' time be set to work and made to earn an honest living, instead ot" j)reying on the public, as 
tliour.uiili of this race of worthless beings now d>» — and wno, to a man, are ever ready to sacri- 
fice tlie best intei-ests of their country to those who will pay them best. Tlie writer is serious in 
the foregoing suggestions, as he firmly believes the class of men alluded to, let their party poli- 
tics be what they may, arf6:)tIio most dangerous, as regards our republican institutions, of any in 
the country. From the n'nt'ure of his business, it has been necessary that the writer should have 
been al.iDst constantly eng;iged in travelling for many years past — and he has particularly 
observed this class of men, and has universally found them to be unprincipled, and at the same 
time, generally insinuating in their manners, and particularly gifted in the arts of deception, 
which they have no djubt acquired by constant practice. 'I'he writer fancies he can almost 
desi<;-nate them as they pass him in the street, from a peculiar Jesuitical or sinister e.\pressior» 
of countenance they al,nost invariably possess; and he would earnestly recommend to every 
far.iier, mech mic, and laboring man, to avoid their company as tliey would the author of all evil, 
wh )se children they are. 

But to return from this long digression, to Mr. Van Buren's specie patlcrn for America, the 
Gkani) Duchy ok Tusca.ny, whose ruler is absolute, and where the people pay a spc^cie tax on 
their beets and pinsnips, cncinnticrs and radishes, as stated by our consul at Leghorn, which 
stalement the writer can readily believe, as he was himself informed at that place some months 
since, that so rigorous were the governiuent officers, that a poor woman on a visit from the coun- 
try to [jeghorn, was stopped at tiie gate, and a morsel of bread which she had brought witii her 
for her dinner was taken from her, it being considered contraband. 

Tusc my is, nevertheless, perh;ips the least e.xce[)tionable of any of Mr. V'an Buren's " Sjicci» 
Pattkrn " '^foreitrii gorcniiiicnts'' — but the writtr observed, in jinssing through Tuscany in 
several ditferent directions, th it the people were nearly all rag<red, and a ffreat proportion of 
them beggars, while the office-holders were all well dressed, and appt^ared perfectly satisfied that 
a specie eurnmcy wis best, at least fir their mastt>r, the Grand Duke, and themselves. 

6.'/( — FR.^N KF(JRT on the JHnlnc is a fortified city of Germany, and is situated on the river 
Mime. -At the gener:il peac(? in l3l4, Frankfort was declared the permanent seat of the German 
Diet. It contains 4 J,!K)v> inhabitants, anil is chiefly noted for being the birthplace of the great 
Gerinin writer and poet Goi-.ruE.and also of the iloriiscmi.DS, the great Jew Bankers, who 
by the operations of the principles heretofore attempted to be illustrated, of interi'st and low 
prices, amas.sed into their hands peihiips nearly as great an amount of specie as there is at this 
time in circulation in the United Suites. — There were five broiJiers of them in all — one, 
res:d"d in Paris, one in London, one in Amsterdam, one in Frankfort, and the other in Vienna, 
if the writer remembers c rrectly. 

The writer most particularly calls the attention of all readers to the following extracts from 
Mr. Ernest Schwendh^r's (United States consul) letter to Mr Woodbury. His remarks with 
regird to the Pri ssian trensiinj notes, illustrate some of the effects which will undoubtedly be 
produced by the Sub-Treasury scheme now in progress in the United States, in a very clear and 
fore ble manner, and tlie evidence of the consul is not to be doubled, from the circuiiisl;ince that 
he <! es not connect his pliin and simple narrative of facts with tlie subject of a Sub-Treasury 
at all, but they are merely incidentally introduced. Mr. Schwcndler says to Mr. Woodbury, in 
speaking of the information requested — 

" -11 iu)\v iranniitiiis ilie s.inip, I lie;; le vr first to aitvorl to ll'e pcciili ir orji'iiizmion uf lliis sm..ll hut woaltliy 
comiii.ri-i I Rc|.ii'ili-, wliic't a I iiiTtfuistiliUo is UTTL^ FU"\ISG L.MIGER STATKS." 

Aifiin, in speakinj of the amount of the revenue, he says — 

" 'J'li .iiiioiiii i.rili.. vc riy r vomie is ir'atid as a STATK SECRET ; nnd NEVER PROMULn.'VTED ; hut it 
niiv '■■ UIKSSE!) AT, anlesimilcl i.t all ,iil a HALF A iilll,LIO.\ OF liOIJ,AR.<, or J, ;j'),030 llurins." 

Th s is the precise state of thinirs thit would suit Mr. Van Buren, if the writer mistakes not. 
He would feel much safer if the people were obliged to confine themselves to i.rK^^jsr, ; and in 
fact 1 is about all they can do willi regard to the public money, at present. 

The Consul says further — 

" or tlie only two (iL-scriplioiis of paper monny existing in Gormiiiy, that of .^iistri i nppi'arj but seldom in Uicsb 

pnrt ^ • fill" country." 

" Tl;.' Pi-,is;iaii trrii.tiiTij nolr.t, however, enjoy an extensive circnl ition over the jro idr part of Gennnnv." 

"■I'he Prii<-i'n trc isiiry ncitH< hear no intrrest; their ilerioinin ilicns are limit 'li to I,. 5, Id, ami .'JT) Priissim 

tliul rs, :iii 1 BEHLIN is the uiily plane where they mjy ho prc!>ciileil for exchuiiga u-'iiiist coin ; hut azredhlt to luw» 

6 



58 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN- 

the. moirty of all the pnymrnt.f for public duel \s to consist in TtIE?E TREASURY NOTES. This very law, how- 
over, wliicli tends to slrori;»lln;n the credit of those notes, at lumic and iibroiid, cannot lie rig-idly enl'orccil, for as Ihey 
aff^lA,J'ur iiiircaiUUe upci'utWHs and for truvllerj, a Aii,l)lV Mfr(<j:in.ily viure cunvenient than coin or bills of ex- 
oH.vNUE, they are not every where, and not at all tiniL's, lo be obtuintd in sufficient quantity." 

Here is the practical operation of a sub-treasury, described in the compass of a nutshell — and 
it is precisely wliat has been repeatedly shown in Congress and elsewhere would be the opera- 
tion (il' the sub-treasury bill, wliich has lately passed the Senate. — The diafts which will be 
drawn by tlie secretary on any place of deposit lie chooses, will ever command a premium in 
the market, for the same reasons that the Prussian treasury notes do, and will always be 
exchanoed by the receivers of them with brokers for bank bills, as long as the latter arc in mar- 
ket. I'or instance, a government otHcer receives a draft on one of the sub-treasury depositories 
for one thousand dollars. — The whole nation is responsible for the payment of this draft, and it, 
immediate!}' becomes the safest and most convenient currency for remittance abroad as well as 
for the traveller; as its value will be uniform tliroughout the States, and probably in Europe. 
He will of course take this draft to a broker and sell it for bank bills, at 1 or 2 per cent, above 
par ; and in case the seller wishes specie, he will draw it from the banks with these bills. — The 
wliole payments into the sub-treasury are to be in silver and gold, as has been before stated, when 
this sub-treasury scheme is put into lull operation. Can any one suf -"(ose the broker who pur- 
chases this treasury draft will carry it to the treasury and demand tffe silver and gold for it ? 
Why should he, when he can again sell it to some merchant for remittance, or some traveller, for 
2 or'3 per cent, premium, and receive good bank pajjcr in payment, with which he walks to the 
banks and obtains the specie, which again he sells to some one for bank bills at \ or h per cent., 
who has payments to make to government, and who is unwilling to call on the banks for the 
specie r In this manner will the whole amount of specie received by government remain in the 
vaults of tJie sub-treasurj', just so long as Mr. Van Burcn or any other Prisidcnt ckoottcs it shall. 
In this way did the specie remain in the Banks of Amsterdam and of Hamburg for centuries — 
they being government banks. — It matters not what name we give a thing ; it still remains to be 
the same, whether we call it a sub-treasury or a government bank. 

A travelling lecturer, in the service of the Van Buren party, stated not long since at a public 
meeting in Newport, that at a time during Napoleon's wars, Davoust, one of his Grand Mar- 
shals, plundered the Bank of Hamburg, and found the identical kegs of specie in its vaults that 
had been placed there more than one liundred years before, as was known from the marks of a 
fire being on them which iiad occurred in HVJ6 or ]Gl>7. 

The writer of tliis article was in Cincinnati, in Ohio, in the summer of 1819. It was at a 
time when nearly all the local banks in Ohio were broken, or had suspended specie payments, 
from circumstances which have been more fully stated in the first of these communications. 
When about to return home, the writer, with a great deal of difficulty, provided himself with 
about 200 dollars in specie. — The only way he could obtain this sum was to purchase it of 
individuals, in sums of from one to five dollars at a time, and pay in the local bank paper and 
tiie city corporation tickets (which he had received in payment for manufactured goods) at about 
any premium the sellers of the specie chose to ask — from 30 to 50 per cent. — When his specie, 
mostly in silver, was collected, (which required nearly two weeks' time, with the assistance of 
several friends,) he found it both inconvenient and dangerous to carry even so small a sum on 
horseback, which was the method by which he proposed returning to the east. He therefore 
decided to turn this specie into United States Bank bills — the branch of which institution was 
the only solvent bank in the city of Cincinnati — and, with two other exceptions, in the State 
of Ohio. — He was surprised to find that the officers of the bank refused to give him tiieir bills in 
exchange for tlir. ."/iccir, and he was obliged to take it to a broker's office and sell it for Uitited 
Stales Uank bills at tico and one half jur cent, discount on tlu^ specie. This was the only favor of 
any description the writer ever asked of the United States Bank, first or last; and as smgular as 
some may think these circumstances, they are in all their parts strictly true. — Men who look 
on the superficies of things only, may not see any possible reason why the specie was not as 
good to tlie bank as their own bills — hut a little examination will make the reasons plain. — 
The west at that time was lieavily indelited to tlie east, which had caused eastern funds of every 
description to be sent to tlie Atlantic cities. If the United States Bank at Cincinnati had 
received specie in deposit, the bills paid out in lieu of it would have immediately been sent east, 
and the branch bank m ChuMimati would liave been compelled to have sent tlie specie to the 
mother Imnk in Philadelphia, at a cost of 2 or 3 per cent, to redeem them. Will not the sub- 
treasury drafts be as good for remittance as the bank bills of the old " Swindling monster," think 
you .' 

As even the U. Statos Consul who liw.i at Frankfort on the Maine, does not seem himself to 
think that the institutions of that " small /orc/i/7t government" are a suitable "yaltcrn" for 
larger states, the writer will leave it without further remark — and proceed to give a sliglit 
sketch and synopsis of the bill which has been lately hurried through tbe Senate of the llnited 
Slates, called the Independent Treasury bill — and which has, no doubt, been hastened linough 
that body for fear its passage might be deli'aled by the arrival of newly elected Senators, or by 
instructions received from State Legislatures — more especially as Mr. Silas Wright, one of its 
prime movers and chief supporters, in voting for it, knew himself to be acting directly contrary 
to the declared sentiments of three quarters of his constituents. The draft of this bill is exceed- 
ingly cunningly worded and carefully drawn up. Its most dangerous features are insinuated 
wiali a seeming carelessness into sections of apparently trifling importance — but which wilJ 



BY A LABORING MAN. 59 

place a power in" the hands of the President but little dreamed of by the great body of the 
people. As his been before staled, the control of the cuir(;ncy of a country, especially of one so 
commercial in its character as the U. Stales, is much nion-^ dangerous to the liberties of the 
people tliiiii evan the holdiiiir of the sword. The writer will now endeavor to explain some of 
the leading- features of the Sub-Treasury bill, whieii consists of :2S sections, most of whicli, how- 
ever, are of but little importance, and are evidently intended to blind the reader, and to pre- 
vent his perceiving tiie secret springs of the machine, from their being enveloped in so umch 
chatr. 

Section 1st — Provides, that secure fire-proof vaults and safes shall be prepared in the new 
Treasury building', now erecting at Washington, which, with suitable rooms attached, shall be 
the Treasury of the United States — to be under the control of the Treasurer of the United 
States, wliu shall keep all tlu public moneys that shall come into his hands. 

Sectio.v '2d — I'i'irida:, th it the U. States Mint in l*hiladeli)hKi, and the Branch Mint in 
New Orleans, shall be the places of deposit for the public moneys at those cities — and the 
treasurers of said Mint? are to have tiie custody of the same. 

Skctio.v 3d — Provides, that vaults shall be made in the Custom Houses at New York and 
Boston, and the public moneys deposited there shall be placed in the custody of Receivers 
General — to be appointed from time to time. 

Skctio.v 4th — Pr .ctdcs, that vaults and olRces shall be provided at St. Louis and Charleston, 
and Receivers General are to be appointed. 

Skctio.w 5lh — Provides, tliat the four Receivers General at New York, Boston, St. Louis 
and Charleston, shall lie appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate. 

Section Glii — Prohibits the usin^ or loaning of the public money by any of the Receivers 
General, Treasurers, etc., and places them all under the directions of the Treasury department. 

Section 7tii — Begins to disclose the cloven foot, and |)laees all. the iiali-Trc.asvry officers at the 
disfiosul of the PRESIDENT, wiio is authorized through his '• umt," Uie SccriLirnj of the Treas- 
ury, to require such bonds of the sub-treasurers as he thinks fit, and from '■'■time to time renew, 
slrvnirthsn, and increase the ojjici-d bonds ; " " any law in reference to any of the official bonds of 
any of the said officers to the contrary notwitiistanding." This, as will be at once seen, gives the 
President entire control over all the keepers of the public money, and of course over the money 
itself. 

Section 8th — Provides something further about bonds, and other/«Z dc vol. 

Section 9th — Requires all the subordinate receivers of public moneys to pay the same into 
the Great Receiving Offices, as ollen as the Secretary of the Treasury or the Post Master Gen- 
eral may direct. 

Section lOtli — The plot thickens fast, and it is enacted — "That it shall be lawful for the 
Secretiirij of the. Treiisuri/ to tiunskeu. the moneys in the hands of any depository hereby consti- 
tuted, to the Treasury of the United Slates; to the M:nt at Philadelphia; to the Branch Al/nt at 
New Orleans ; or to the offices of either of the receivers general of public moneys, by this act 
directed to be app linted ; to be there safely kept, according to the provisions of this act ", and also to 
TR.\NsrER moneys in the hand.s of any o/jc depository constituted by this act to any of/tcr depository 
the safety ,ol" the public moneys and the convenience of the puldic .s7;cf(re shall seem to him to 
require ; which authority to transfer the moneys belonging to the Post Office Department is also 
herebv conferred upon the Post Master General so far as its exercise by liim may be consistent 
with the provisions of existing laws; and every depository constituted by this act shall keep his 
account of the money paid to or deposited with him belonging to the Post Office Department 
separate and distinct from the account kept by him of other public moneys so paid or deposited, 
— And for the purpose of payments on the public account, it shall be lawful for the Treasurer of 
the United Sillies to draw upon any of said dejiositories, as he may think most conducive to the 
puldic interests, or to the convenience of the public creditors, or both." 

It will be seen that the President, through his officers, by the powers granted him in this sec- 
tion, can transfer all the public moneys or any part of them from New York to St. Louis, or to 
New Orleans, or from any one point to another, that " the public scrrice shall SEEM to him to 
rcqa'>re," [Eukati'M — For "■public service" read Pkesiuent's seiivice,] thus giving him the 
complete control of the exchanges — while he has at the same time power to draw through his 
treasurer on any of thest; depositories he may think proper in i)ayment of demands on the public. 
Archimedes, the ancient Mathematician, said, that if Ik; could find a fulcrum on which to rest a 
lever, he would lltl the world. The writer of this article believes that Mr. Van Buren must be 
very weak indeed, if, with the powers conterred on him in this one section of the Sub-Tre;isury 
bill alone, he cannot iirmage to rule in the U. Stales as long as he chooses, and then appoint his 
suncessor — provided he is allowed a year or two to get tlio machine in complete operation. By 
this one clause, the whole banking system of the United States will be placed as etreclually 
under the control of the Executive, as it mould hare been had Mr. Van Buren it Co. succeeded, 
in l-^'i), in inducing '■'■ JVick BiddJc " to place the United States Bank, with its 25 branches, into 
the hands of the Executive for the same purpose. 

Section 11th — Agtiiii places all the public moneys in the United States subject to the draft 
of the Treasurer of the United States, and r(>qnires each d<'pository to make such returns as the 
Secretary of the Treasury or Post Master General may direct. 

Section 12th — Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to appoint special agents, with such 
compensation as he himself shall fix. fe,r the purpose of examining the books, returns, and ac- 
counts of the officers, public moneys, ^c «S:-c. «5>;.c. 



60 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Section 13lh — Provld-s, tliat one class of public ofiicers shall examine the books and 
accounts oi' anolh r cluss, to kfcj) tlicm hoiifst — ay, '■'honest, us the world i^oes." 

SectioiN 14th — Requires allelic receiving othcers to obej' the orders of the Secretary, and 
authorizes them to lure additional clerks, witii the said Secretary's consent, and also to provide 
additional fire-proof chests cr vaults, &c. &c. 

Si^cTioN 15th — Provides, tiiat the Secretary shall vfithdraw the public moneys from the pres- 
ent depositories. — There are, however, none, present to withdraw. 

Section 16th — Is rather more mystical than usual, but if tlie writer understands it correctly, 
the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to designate the depositories where payments ef 
public dues sliall be mad^ by tiie public ofiicers and debtors. 

Section 17tli — Requires eacli receiving officer to keep in writing an amount of the description 
of currency received, or disbursed, and his using or loaning any part of it is declared felony, and 
punisJiable by fine and imprisonment. 

Section Idtli — Procid: s, that until offices are built and vaults constructed, the Secretary of the 
Treasury may contract lor suitable rooms and vaults — the expense to be paid by the U. States. 
For insiance, if tiie President of the Bank of America should be the receiver general at New 
York, the Secretary of the Treasury will have tiie power to hire vaults in that institution, or the 
Manliuttan, if necessary — or the same with regard to tlie Commonwealth or Lafayette Banks in 
Boston, should eitlier of their present or former presidents be appointed Receiver General at 
tiiat point. 

Sec I ION 19lh— Enacts, that after theSCth day of June, 1840, one fourth part of all public dues 
slvill be paid in tlie " legal currency " of the United States; after the 3utli of June, 1^41, one 
other founh part; after the 30th of June, 164:2, one other fourth part; and after the 3i<tli of 
June, 1843, the whole revenues, oi' every descri/ttion, shall be collected in gold and silver ONLY. 

Section 2i)th — Enacts, that after June 30th, 1643, all disbursements made on account of gov- 
ernuienl, shall be in silver and gold onlij, and makes it the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
to repjrt to the President and to Congress, any departure from this mode of payment by any dis- 
bursing officer : — it howiver provides no punish went far the delinquents. 

Section iilst — Enacts, that "no exchange of funds shall be made by any disbursing officers, or 
agents of the CTOvernnient, of any grade or denomination trhatsoivir, or connected with any 
brancli of the public service, other than an exchange for gold and silver ; and every such dis- 
bursing officer, when the means for his disbursements are furnished to him in currency legally 
receivable under tlie provisions of this act, shall make his payments in the currency so furnished,* 
or when those means are furnished to liim in drafts, shall cause those drafts to be presented at 
their place of payment, and properly paid, according to the law, and shall make his payments in 
the currency so received for the drafts furnished, UNLESS, in either case, he can exchange the 
MEANS in his hands for gold and silvku at par, and so as to fiicilitate his payments, or other- 
wise accommodate tlie public service and promote the circulation if a nieiallic currency. And it 
shall be, and is hereby made, tlie duty of the head of the proper Department immediately to 
suspend from duty any disbursing ofiicer who shall violate the provisions of this section, and 
forthwith to report the name of the officer, or agent, to the President, with the fact of the vio- 
lation and all the circumstances accompanying the same and within the knowledge of the said 
Secretary, to the end that such ofiicer, or agent, may he prinnptiy removed from oJfic6, or restored 
to his trust and the /jerfiirmanci; if his duties, as to the President may seem just and pro;.er." 

This section is perhaps the most cunningly worded of any section in the bill. Jt appears that 
all disbursing officers shall present all tlie drafts they may receive from the Secretary of the 
Tn>asury, or other officers of Government, at the places where they are payable, '■ UNLESS" 
tliey " can exchirniri said, drafts for g Id and silver at par "' — if at a premium, of course it will 
be a perquisite of the officer, for his accommodation of the " Public service," (tor wiiich again 
re:id " President's service,") and also a reward for his laudable efforts in promoting " the circula- 
tion of u metallic currency " — as these drafts with proper management will always be above par, 
from the same causes that the Prussian 'freasury notes are above pnr — there will, it is presumed, 
be 111 gr(>at difficulty in procuring the specie for them, without resorting to a demand on the 
ilep^silories of tlie sub-treasury on which they may be drawn, more especially as the iieighbnrino- 
blinks may be much more convenient to procure the specie from, than a public depository which 
peril ips is Pi or 1500 miles distant, and which the;' President's scrcice " rendered it necessary 
the draft slnuld be drawn upon. 

Section '22ud — Enacts, that no distinction in funds shall be permitted in payments of public 
dues. 

Section y:^r J — Enacts. " tliat it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue and 
publish reguliitions to enforce the speedy presentation of all Governm(>nt dralts for payment at 
the |)lace where payable, and to prescribe the time, according to the different distances of the 
depositories fi-om the seat of Governiiicnt, within which all drafls upon thiMU, respectively, shall 
be presented for payment ; and, in default of such presentation, to direct any other mode and 
place of payiiumt which he miy deem proper. But in all those regulations and directions it 
dh ill be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to guard, as far as may be, against those 
drafts being used or thrown into circulation, as a paper currcmcy or mi^dium of exchange." 

It will be si'cn by this section that the President has the whole power, through his " unit," the 
Secretary of tin; Treasury, of naming the mode of payment of any transfi-r or other drafts not 
presented in the prescribed time at the dep isitory on which they are drawn. The writer has 
Beldoiii been deceived in his conclusions with regard to the intentions of either the past or the 



liY A LAaoiUNG MAN. 61 

present administra'/ion — excepting when lie has supposed their stcitcmenta to the people to mean 
what by a. plum iiiUr/jrvtatiuu tlie language in whicli they are made wuuid seem to imply. From 
this section, he would suppose the PiesiUent, througii his Secretary, would so order the payment 
of these drails as to operate ratiier as a reward to tne delin(iuenls than otiierwise — perliaps pro- 
vide that they shall Le paid at one grand central point, suppose lor instance at Washington — 
which may be made to correspond wilh Benin in Piuxsia — and where tlie treasures ot silver 
and gold drawn from the eouulry and the Banks, may be coneenlrated. 

tftxrioN 2Jth — (Jives annually -JUJU iU)llars of the '■'■ :>pvil:> ' to the Receiver General at New 
York, and also increases the ])rfsent salaries ol'the treasurers at the mints. 

Notwithstanding thi; provisions of the ;:i'ind section prohibiting any distinction being made in 
paj'inents of public dues, 

iSKerio.N 2oth — Authorizes the pnyment fur public lands, at any public or private sales, to bo 
made in the Ircigiiiti s ii.-i iji/.-<, given for the deposit of specie at particular points he, tho 
treasurer, is permitted to designate. It is provided, that these receipts shall be received only of 
or for the account oi ihose. who lirst received them ; but there is no provision in the section which 
makes the treasurer accountable for any variation from its provisions. — In fact it must be per- 
ceived by all who e.vaniine this Sub-Treasury bill, th;it while there is a great tlourish made about 
fines and iinpris'Hiinent, in sections of but little importance, there is a singular Ibrbearance dis- 
played in this respect in the' most important sections, and where, in case of delinquency, the 
crime must rest with the higher ollicers. 

Skction "Jlith — PioL-idcs, that 10,000 dollars, shall be expended in providing rooms, vaults, &c. 
for the receivers, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

Skctio."* 27ih — Appropriates an indetinite sum of money to meet any further expenses that 
may occur from the |)assage of the Sub-Treasury bill. 

Skt rioN "i-th — Rcp.'aU all former acts that may come in conflict with the provisionsof the act 
creating a Trvtistu-ij indificiidciU uf die People. And so this third " exjjciiiiiciit " or " expedient," or 
" soil K.ME " of Alartin V.iii lUiren and his friends, to get the entire control of the currency closes. 

At the meeting of Congress last Uecember, it was thought the Whigs would have a siirticient 
majority in the llousi; ol' Representatives to prevent the passage of this insidous bill. To oblaia 
a majiirity, the aduiiuistralioii excluded from their seats live out of the six Whig members froia 
the Slati? of New Jersi'y, and who |)n!sented the legal credentials of their I'lection. Notwith- 
etandiiig this, on the election ol tiie speaker ot the House, it still a[)peared, that a majority tor 
the administration w;is doubtful — and means were applied of so in t sort, effectual enough to 
induce a number of southern members who were supposed to be under the influence of Mr. 
Calhoun to take the side of the administraiion. As is well known, the Executive has lately 
called upon Congress to furnish means to pay tlie expenses of governineiit., which to prevent 
the people from tliorouglily iindersiaiiding, until after the next presidential idection, the jiarty 
in piu'er pr<)|)i)se t> raise by a new issue (d' Treasury notes, which measure they will now, 
probibly, be able to accomplish, as, o:i the principle that " minflu malits right, " the majority have 
not only excluded the live legal representatives Iroin New Jersey, but have admitted the same 
number ot supporters of the adminislraiion in their places, :ind thus, by this sjtecies of shifting 
balliist, have made the same as ten votes more for the adiniiiislralion than it would have had 
under the legal orgaiiizition ot' Congress. There is nothing now to privenl the jjassage of tiie 
SnIiTreasnry bill, uiiles.-; the executive and its minions sliould conclude that the present B.ink- 
ru[)lcy of the Treasury, will prevent the p ivvers confern'd by the bill being brnughl to bear ia 
time to meet the exigencies of the next Presidential election. It Congress should, however, allow 
the Exi cut ve to issue any considerable amount of Treasury notes, the Sub-Treasury bill will j)rob- 
ably i)e pis.sed at the present session. 

Jiidiring, however, fiMin late indicitlons, the writer is led to suspect, that a different plan is 
about being resorted to, to secure Mr. Van Buren's re-election by his friends and supporters, 
now rendered desperate, from the fear of <jen. Harrison's success ne.xl fill. As has been before 
stated, one of the great leading [)rinci])les otboth the present and past adininistnition has been, 
to concentrate all power int i tlie hands of the federal executive, innumerable instances may 
be adduced to prove that most of the state legislatures with administration majorities are 
entirely controlled by the Kxeoutive party at VVasliinglon. Witness, lor instance, the pro- 
ceed. n^s of the I'eiin-iylvania legislature at Harrisburg this present winter, the Van Hmi'a 
majority of which, hive blown hot and cold just as they were requested to do by instructions 
from \Vashingion — on one day moving Heaven and Earth airainst the Pennsylvania " iiaiik 
monster, " and threatening its immediate destruction — on the ne.tt applying to the same Bank 
for a loan of money which the leaders of the |)arty probably never intend sh ill be repaid. 

Connerling some remarks lately made by Mr. Benton in the United States sen ite. with a 
nninb'r of ri'solutiims tk-it were pissed abnut the same time by the senate of the state of Maine, 
the writer is led l'» believe tint Governor Fairfield and the friends of the fedi nil executive, in 
the legislature of that state, have received orders from head rjiiarters, at Washington, to com- 
mpnr,(> frettinur themselves into another rage, similar to that tliey experienced thf last winter. 
If necessary they will receive further instruc'ions to so order things, (than which nothing is 
easier done,) that some outracre shall be coinmilted on the ground of Ihi' disputed territory — by 
which blood sh ill be spilt, when the President and his frends w.II be at once seized with a 
nost ILihj sentuiirnt of Patriotism, and all classes and parties will be called up mi to rally around 
their Coininaniler-in-Chief. Martin Van Boren, to assist in the defence of their coiinlrv. The 
millions of" Treasury notes," it will become necessary instantaneously to issue, in event of such 



62 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

a war, will afford a fine opportunity to merge the present bankruptcy of the {rovernment ; and 
the iiuniense expejiclitures of money by governineul, incidental to a state of war, will enable the 
executive to greatly extend its influence, and at the same time I'urnish a cloak for any mob vio- 
lence tha party may think it necessary to exert at the ensuing Presidential election. Judginor 
from late speeches in Congress by leaders of the Executive party, and especially from Dr. 
Duncan's excessive plaudits in praise of the virtuous and patriotic jHarrisburg moh, (who, as he 
stated on the floor of Congress, compelled the Whig members of the Pennsylvania leirislature to 
jump out of the windows,) and from other signs of the times, the writer believes that the plan 
of carrying elections by mob violence will become a standing measure with the minions of 
power the ensuing fall, especially in the state of Pennsylvania. Should it so turn out that the 
issue of the Presidential election should depend upon the electoral vote of that state, the writer 
believes there will be such scenes enacted, at the polls within its borders, as have never yet been 
witnessed in the U. Stales. The present men in power are mostly composed of a class whose 
•whole dependence is upon office, and who, if they are deprived of their places, will be ranked 
among the lowest and the vilest of mankind, and they will not stick at using any means to re- 
tain tlieir power, however unjirincipled and violent. 

Should the administration be really desirous of maintaining peace, nothing 13 easier done. 
Tlie difficulty about the boundary line of a nation may be as readily adjusted by the parties, 
without a resort to war, as that the disputed boundary of a farm should be settled between two 
farmers, without a resort to law. There is no more honor implicated in the one case than in the 
other. In cither case, if the parties cannot agree themselves, it is better to leave its decision 
to a third party. If two i'arms adjoining siiould have been improved in common ibr centuries, 
and the dividing line was crooked, and enveloped in forests and swamps — it would be very 
likely that a ditffculty would occur with regard to tracing the exact boundary, and if the parties 
were wise, a mutual forbearance would be observed until a third party could be called in to 
adjust the difficulty. — By resorting to the law, perhaps ten times the value of the disputed land 
would be expended by each party, besides destroying the peace of their lives. — Just so with the 
boundary of Maine and New Brunswick. — The disputed line is very crooked, and runs through 
a mountainous region, enveloped in forests, and it is no doubt difficult to ascertain its course to 
a fraction — but may easily be amicably adjusted by the display of a proper degree of mutual 
forbearance by the parties, until a third party can be agreed upon to adjust the difficulty. By 
the Executive's placinga man, for instance, of Gen. Scott's known abilities, prudence and courage, 
on the frontier in Maine, all danger of a hostile collision for the present, would be obviated — 
and peace, if desired, may be readily maintained. 

It IS very seldom that the real causes of wars are developed or announced to the people, whose 
blood and treasure are expended in waging them. When the government of a nation or nations 
are placed by circumstances in a situation from which they wish to distract the attention of the 
people, they generally resort to an expedient something similar to that adopted by mischievous 
men in getting up a dog fight. These men simply place two dogs in front of each other, and 
after mutually directing the attention of the one to the other, slyly tread on their tails, when 
they fly at each other's throats, and after blood is once spilled, even their masters cannot sepa- 
rate them. If these were sensible dogs, they would mutually turn round and throttle the design- 
ing men who sought to embroil them in a fight, merely for their amusement. It is evident that 
Great Britain is averse to a war with America at this time, and therefore her doo's tail will not 
be pinched — but as it is of the Bull breed, it may at the same time be made to fight, if attacked 
by any other dog whose tail may be cunningly trod upon, vi'hether by Martin Van Burcn or 
any other treacherous friend or master. 

The only European country from which Mr. Woodbury has made returns, that demands gold 
and silver exclusively for government dues, excepting the six before mentioned, is Turkey — 
which is a large empire extending over part of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Most of the countries 
which comjjose this empire border on the Mediterranean and Black seas. The inhabitants of 
this " PATTKRN furcisrn government" profess the Mohammedan religion, and their laws permit 
each Turk to have four wives — whom they keep confined in what they call Harams. — The men 
shave their heads, wear long beards, and also wear white Tiii'i)an3. This ^'■forrign government," 
however, allows none other but a genuine Turk to wear a white Turban. — The ruler of this 
" PATTERN " is called the Grand Seignior — who is the absolute master of the lives and goods of 
his subjects, and whoso heads ho has been in the iiabit of removing, with as little ceremony as 
the crazy Emperor Paul of Russia used to remove the hats from the heads of his subjects. 

Mr. John P. Brown, United States Consul at Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish 
empire, writes Mr. Woodbury, that — 

" Till revenue of llii.s Ciipitiil is collected in specie, botli gold and silver, l)y tlie Custom Houso officers, and llio 
cliicf of cacli corporate trade or guild, whose bankers are responsible to the government for the amount, vvliich rs 
known." 

" Until qnite lifcly, the ndministrntion of each province and source of rcvenno was sold or rented by the govern- 
ment to Pa h >3 for one year, ciiher payable in lulvuncc, or guaranteed to the trensury by Ainiirican bunkers, in whose 
solvency tlio government could lru<l. These Pdclia* re-sol I Ih) minor empl()ym::i!ts lo sub-governors or directors, 
oncli of whom, as well as the P.iclias, must have a solvent bunker in this ciipitiil, who is security to the government 
for the iimount. 'J"ho P.irhag are now s.ilaried, iind the government disposes of the sources of revenue directly to 
the directors, receiving the amount in mlv incc, or a guirantee of its pijment from such bankers, resident in this 
cnpit il, as it can iippr,)ve. Consequ'ntly the bank<rs ure responsililn to tin- government for the amount, whether it is 
coll.'ctd nr not. They receive it front the Provinces either in specie, triinsportcil on homfhacli, in by hills of ex- 
chimi^e, and piiy it into the treasury lit the capital in specie. Should nny of the binl'crs fail to pay the amount for 
•which they are security, the result would bo immedi.-ite confisc.iiioii of their entire property, besides an uucortaiil 



BY A LABORING MAN; 69 

per.fuial piiiiialim-^nt. No otlior moiipy is ihocI 'v\ this country tlmii sporio and liilH of exctian»", (sub-treasury 
ilrafrs) and liio furiniT is of vury baie al'o:j. 'i'lic mint ij a yovernuK'nt spioulatioii, unci tliero aro no curpvruts bodieaj'ur 
banking." 

Travellers represent the extortions of government officers, throughout the Turkish empire, to 
be exceedingly oppressive and inhuman. The people in many provinces are obliged to deliver 
the produce they raise to the government officers, and receive any price they choose to pay 
them. Mr. Jones, Chaplain of the United Stales ship Delaware, in speaking of i^gypt, a prov- 
ince of the Turkisli empire, which he visited, says — 

" Tlie travfiller througli Egypt is con'itrintly stni.'k with two things : ono, tlio hi.;li st ito of iniprovcmenl in nil pub- 
lic institutions, anil tho i.'norjry with wliicli they aro coududed ; and thi( other, tlio vassaU.'e, tho exlromcly alijc't 
state oftliB poople. No sulijects in tho wotl I aro in su li n wiclclii.-d condition as those of the; Egyptian I'uch i. Tlu'y 
have tlio nppe.ir.inou of freodom, but tlirou,'hout Ihn wliolir country every man is a slave to tho royal miisler. Tlioy 
till the land, and may c.ill tho produce theirs; hut when it is ;;jther''d in, ho compels them to carry it to his storc- 
hous.s, and there he purchases it at his own pri x'S, which arc just sufficienl to .koop thoni fnim a miserable death. 
The stores thus accumul.ilorl he sells all over Itluropo, wherever a j;ood mirket can he procured; th -■ money is laid 
out chiefly in the support of his army and navy, and thus the avail-; of their labor are returnerl to the poor wretches in 
tho shapa of the ' npz?.am,' or soMiers to keep them in subjection. Of course ihey Into both the I'acha and all his 
arm ;d fjrces most cordially ; but for this ha cares nought ; and thus we have llic spectacle of a nation apparently pros- 
pcrou-i, but in reility cvtremidy miserable. Ho is so severe in liis exactions, that ifa cultivator wishes to pi an I a Irce, 
ho mu-it provide an equivalent for the ground it miy occupy ; and in ono village up tho Nile, wliert! wi' stopped to get 
veg ta'd s, tliey inlbrm -d ih that they had nono for themselves. The last se ison, their grounds, they said, had not 
yielded the qn unity of grain required, and this year they had been compelled to convert their gardens into wheat 
fields, in order to make up the duficiency." 

Again he says — 

" Fifteen years ago there was n scarcity of gr lin in Europe, but a griat abimdancn in Esypl, and tlie merchnnt sove- 
reign had an opportunity of realizing an extremely h mdsomo profit on the produ -ts of his soil ; hut tho Nile happened at 
that season to be unusually low, ani vessels found it so difficult to l(i:id at the mouth of the river, that his harvi'st 
of j;rain wis in a groat me isure lost. Ho then conceived t1ie idjii of a cinal to unite the river with the secure and ex- 
cell 'nt harbor of Alexandria. With him there is but a short interval between planning and executing. Ho sent his 
soldiers into the country with rcqui-:ilions on the variou? governors for men, according to tho size of their vilhigos or 
districts. Tlie poor natives wera hunlud up, and being f islen jd to bug poles by iron collars around the neck, forty 
to a pole, were thus driven down to the line marked out by his engineer, and there set to work. Mr. (Jlidtlon, (tho 
Consul,) who saw the work in progress, informed me th;it there wore 1.50,()3J men employed upon it at one time. la 
six months tho canal was completed, witli the exception of a lililo masonry, and win opened tor use. It is sixty 
miles in length, ninety fi'et wide, and eighteen in deptli, incluling six feet of water. The workmen had no lools, ex- 
cept a few hoes to break the hard upper crust: wlion this had been done, they scraped the oartli together with tlieit 
fingers, formed it into balls, and passed them by hand to the sides of tho canal, a I irgn portion of the wet mass often 
esciping b:!twecn their hands while on the waj'. Exposed to the sun, and without shelter at night, and pro'iibly 
v^ithout sufficient food, disease crept in amnni them ; and [ was credibly informed that during the diggins, 3J,0!)0 of 
the workmen perished ; their bodies, as soon as lifj was extinct, were tossed upon the growing heaps of earth at the 
sid ', and this was their burial." 

As Mr. Van Buren objects to our method of making canals under the '■'■false system,'' perhaps 
it might be well wo should adopt the plan of this " foreign governmcnl pattkr.s " in that rcsjject, 
at the same time that we adopt their mode of collecting and keeping our llevt^nue. 

NAllRAGANSETT. 



(From the Newport, R. I., Hcrall of the Times, April 9, ISIO.] 

No. 9. 

Description of Mr. Van Burcn's " PA TTERN Foreign Governments," 

continued. 

The Writer has already given a slight sketch of the seven European '■'■foreign governments," 
whoso existence Mr. VVoodbury lias ferreted out and discovered by dint of liis proverbial 
perseverance, and in which tlie wiiole revenues are collected in s|)ecie only. — Most of these 
*■' jxi'trrns," it is true, were seldom bt'f)re heard of ten leagues from their own borders, but still 
thi'v sounded as loud in print as tliey would have done if tlieir size had been increased a 
hundred fold, and it was not Mr. Woodbury's futilt that they were not larger or better condi- 
tioned. 

Mr. Woodbury informs Congress that he h^s received accounts from ten other Europeati 
"forri<rn gorcrniiirnis," as before stated, which llie writer will now proceed to enumerate and 
Vf.ri/ slightly describe. They consist of Belgium, Saxonv, Denmark, Naples, (or the Two 
Sicilies.) Bivaria, Sweden, Prussia, Austria, France, Great Britain and Ireland. 

1st. Belgium is a kingdom formed in 1830 out of the southern part of the Netherlands, and 
had fir some time previous constituted a part of Holland. Its population is about 4,500,000. 
Brussels (or Bruxelles) is its cipital, and contains about !)0,0U0 inhabitants. — Waterloo is about 
I!} miles from Brussels, and is famous as IteiiiLT the place near where the great battle was fougiit 
on the I.'ilh of June, 1S1.">, which completed the downfall of Napoleon. — On the evening the 
battle comiiii'nced, a ball had been given t ) the Biitish and other officers of tlie allied army in 
Brussels, and they were hastily su:nm')ned to the figiil by the roar of the distant cannon, which 
was first heard by the Duke of Brunswick, who perished on the fiebi, as did many other of the 
offio'TS in the same dresses they wore at the ball — they not beiiicr allowed time to change tliein. 
— W the writer remembers correctly, more than 100,000 men fell in the engagement, and were 



64 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

bui-led in trenches on Uie ground vvheie tlu-y ffll. — Many men, women and cliildnn, to this 
day, are occupied in pioliiniT up bulLts, regimental buttju.-, and other lelics of llie battle, on the 
luxuriant fields where it was fought, and dispose of them to llie numerous visitors wiio Irequeat 
tlie spot from all parts of the world. But a stranger can perceive nothing on the grcjund more 
tlian its superior verdure to denote the spot where such terrible carnage raged so short a time 
since. In passing over the field the writer picked up a solitary jaw boire — but whether it 
belonged to a cominon soJd'ur or an Einpirur he was not sufficiently skilled in anatomy to decide. 
He was informed, however, that nearly all the bones had been collected from the field, and had 
been sent to England to be ground up lor manure, and were mostly used to manure turnip 
fields. — A fine cummeutary on military ^lory indeed. The bones of a full grown hero would 
probably produce a dozen good sized turnips — alas for the folly of mankind! 

Mr. TJiomas H. Barker, United States Consul at Antwerp, the chief connnercial city of 
Belgium, writes to Mr. Woodbury that payment of revenues " is required to be made in specie, 
or in the bills of a Bank.ng Institution established at Brussels, entitled, " Gc.nniil Assoc in liuii fur 
the. Eiicourngemcnl of i\.\TioN ai. Industry ,' which institution is the general financial ;igent of the 
revenues, and the sole depf)sitory of the [lublic moneys, there being in reality no treasury in the 
Kingdom. Mr. Barker also says — "The Government does not exact any security from the 
gove;iiment bank, nor does the bank pay aiuj iiUcrisl for the use of the public funds deposited 
witii them — the m,iriii character of the institution is their onl}' guarantee." 

'I'liis '•patleni" will not do. ^^ Moral ckaractir !'' why, that was the same species of security 
given by the old " Uid ui S:atcs inonsttr:' — if Mr. Buiker wishes to retain his appointment, the 
writer would admonish him to say but little about ^- moral rliaractir" in his despatches to 
Washington, it is like talking about halters in the house of a man whose father was lianged — 
and Mr. Woodbury and his master would rather hear of a tlu.usand ■' Galleys," '■ Penitentiaries," 
and •'■ Dialhs," than to hear of one '■'■moral cliai-adcr." It is the ghost of such a thing that 
haunts them. 

^iid. Saxony is a modern kingdom in the north-eastern part of Germany. It comprises an 
area of 7, Ids square miles, with a population of 1 ,'^H7,0l)(J. Leipsig (or Leipsit;) is its capital, 
containing about ;}0,UO() inhabitants. Mr. Flugel, United States Consul at Leipsic, writes Mr. 
Woodbury that "the public revenues of Saxony are paid in Prussian currency, as the most 
current money in trade ; the other direct or indirect duties are discharged in Saxon currency, 
either in specie, or partly (to the half) in treasury bills of the State, no otliers being in existence." 
In speaking of the safij keeping of the public moneys, the consul says — "The best security 
against misuses is, the good character of the functionaries, their oath, surety in specie, or in pub- 
lic funds, and fin-j.l\y a good salary," which hist guarantee Mr. Woodbury has placed in italics, in 
toiien of approbation, it is i)resumed. Bit Mr. Flugel should be careful and not s;iy too much 
about '■•go d ciiiiracter," in his despatches. — It will answer well enough for liim to talk about 
'■'■good salaries," hut not about '■'■gooil cliaractirs" — the latter are seldom found in the possession 
of members or olHcers of Mr. Van Buren's administration — the former are exceedingly plenty, 
and are yearly increasing, especially as the Presidential election approaches. 

The writer has before stated that the Custom House officers, under John (iuincy Adams, at the 
port of iMew York, numbered 174, while their salaries amounted in the aggregate to $li;i,t)(J:i, 
or about !|b7;{ dollais for eacli individual ! 

Ill Id:',-), the Custom House officers at the same port of New York, amounted to 4!4, and the 
aggregate of their salaries was increased to ,<j^4()9,(J6.', or about 1014 dollars for kacii iniuviddai. I ! 

in 164.1, six inontlis /jrevinus to a Presidential election, the Custom House officers of the same 
port, ill the face of a greatly diminished revenue, h.ive been increased (as sliown by tlie govern- 
in nt •' Blue Bo.jk") to 4!(4, and notwithstanding there has been a constant decline of the price 
of articles of consumption, the salaries of these officers now amount in the aggregate to the 
enormous sum of ,<;.')4'.J,:{: ti, nearly five times as much as they were in John Qumcy Adams's 
ad;iiiiiistralion. or about 10:8 dollars f,r EACH INDIVIDUAL! ! I 

This not only goes to prove the great faith Mr. Van Buren jjlaces in '• good salaries," as a 
protection of the public money, but also is a hinnc evidence of what the writer has before asserted, 
that all experience! goes to |)rove, that the expenses of governments always increase, rather than 
d!..iiiiisli, as the people of a country are impoverished and enslaved. 

Tlie d ictrines of the present administration, with regard to the safe keeping of the public 
money, are worthy of the dark(-st ages of the world. They ])lace a man in office, and pretend 
to expect him to discharge his duties wholly from the sentiment of fur. He is to be surrounded 
by spies, and threatened with fiiu; and imprisonment, at evi-ry step, not on the principle of a 
general law that applies to all his fi-llow-citizens alike, who may be guilty of ofiences of the 
eame natiiio, hut an especial law is pissed to operate on a small class alone. Is it possible that 
under these circumstances, an honorable and high-miiid(>d man will ever be found filling these 
o;iic.s.^ The thing is as impossible as that th.- rays 'if the sun should mingle with darkness. 
And moreover, it is never intended such men shall hold these offices Mr. Van Buien and his 
ass )ciales would feel themselves but ill at ease in the presence of such men. 

The French have a proverb which implies something like this — that '■ the world makes a man 
what it l^elieves him to be,' — than which a more important truism has seldom been expressed. 
MiJst men's characters are formed by cinumslances, and if the h-;bits, customs, or institutions 
of any community single out any particular class or calling, and habitually treat and consider 
tlvm as knaves, thi-y will soon become so, even were tliey previously evt-r so honest. Every 
etate paper that has been issued from the government, since the election of General Jucksun, to 



CY A LABORING MAN. 65 

the people, wliile they Ir.ivc been full of expressions of unbounded confidence in the intelligence 
of tlie people, have contained at the same time the inherent evidence that Ihc writers of them 
liad no belief in the iiUcgritij of man. Whole classes of the community have been denounced 
as worthless, and as A/p/.W/o-j-, who, if they were compared, as individuals, with the men who 
denounced tliem, would ap|)ear like angels when contrasted with demons. And yi't this 
constant and unremitting stream of slander has njt been without its effect even on the charac- 
ters of many of our purest and most honorable citizens. In confirmation of the trutli of the 
French proverb, many have been degraded in tiieir own estimation, and have become in rcalitij 
what the E.xecutive and his minions accused them of being, at a time when they were perfectly 
innocent of the charges made against them as a class. Pope, who well understood human na- 
ture, says — 

" Vice is a inoiwlcr of so frigiitful mien, 

Ai to bn liatcil, iieeils Imt to l)C scon ; 

Y«t ecen too ot'i, f.iinlliar Hitli lier fii"e, 

We first endure, Itieii rirv, then EMUllACE." 

Witness, for instance, the effects produced on our banking system. When General Jackson 
came into power, this syslem might be said to be almost perfect. Probably tlu- whole losses by 
the Hanks that the people had been subjected to for the ten years previous, both in individual and 
t.he public business, did not amount to the interest alone they would have been subjected to on a 
necessary amount of specie currency for si.x months. Tlie public money was kept safe without 
no/se, and without cost, and was always ready at any point where it was needed. In l&-i'.), an 
attempt was made by the friends of Gen. Jackson to get the control of the United States Bank 
far jiolitic/il purposes, (of which more will be said hereafter.) They Jailed, however, in tlie at- 
tempt, and upon the receipt of Mr. Biddies UECIDl'^D letter, dated July Idth, l.S:2.), in which 
he tells the E.xecutive that the " thuk relation of the Bank to the fraverninrnl, is that of an im- 
partiiil and independent friend, .not a paktisan," it was determined at Washington to destroy 
the Bank, to pave tiie way for an institution more subservient to the views of the then E.xecu- 
tive, and the /«<(//■(•; crpi: tunts. Tiie Bank was forthwith charged with being guilty of interfering 
in electi:)ns, while the truth was, its rifustd so to do was the very reason that caused the charge to 
be made, viz , the refusal to lend itself to the E.xecutive to be used as a pomticai. machine. 
The constant abuse and contumely heaped by the E.xecutive and its minions upon the conduct- 
ors of that Bank, and more recently upon all otiiers connected with Banking institutions, has in 
a great measure destroyed tiie high character their managers as a class formerly possessed. And 
whenever these institutions have been of late years solely in the hands of the minions of the 
Executive, they have been almost sure to be plundered, or used as po'itical viuchincs. For the 
truth of this, the writer appeal.^ to thi; public in every section of the country. Witness, for in- 
stance, the Li Fayette and the Commonwealth Banks of Boston, and the Manhatlan Bank in 
New York — all managetl by tlie most unscrupulous adherents of the present and past adminis- 
trations, and a host of otiiers. In fact, nearly, if not quite all the losses of the public money by 
our banks, have occurred in those institutions where the Executive had managed either to insin- 
uate its own adiierents, or in the language of a ■'^Dutlicrn friend of the ad.ninistration, had "de- 
bauched " those who already posse.ssed their control. The effect of this evil influence is not 
contined strictly to banking or to party limits, but there has been a looseness engendered in 
every department of business, from the same causes, and many men who would otherwise have 
lived and died honest, have been degraded in their own estimation, by the constant torrent of 
abuse poured upon llieni as a class, by the E.xecutive and its organs, and they have been gradu- 
ally prepared to yield to temptation, and have disgraced themselves and country, by the betray- 
ing of important trusts committed to them. 

Some time since, at a public dinner of the friends of the present administration in Boston, a 
partisan of Mr. \^an Huren's gave as his toast the fnllowin^; sentiment — "Christianity and the 
Banks ; ni'iy their doimfuU be spcdy." Ten or twelve years ago, this sentiment could not have 
been spoken or read in an assembly of the viost degraded part of our ])opulation, without calling 
forth an expression of indignation from nil. But now, so familiar have the public become with 
sin in high places, that such a sentiment would in many assemblies tind advocates, and nearly 
all would read and pass it by without probably noticing it, even in thonght. 

All experience goes to prove that an increase of jjunishment also increases crime. It is quite 
as necessary to reward good actions as it is to punish bad ones, if we wish to elevate the moral 
ch-iracler of a community. Tlie public moneys would be much safer in the hands of men whose 
lives have borne witni'ss to thiHr inlegritj-, without any guarantee at all, than they would be 
when placed in Iron Safes and Vaults, though secured by a thousand keys, intrusted to men 
whose honesty is guaranteed only by the fear of ^'- imprisonmcvt, oallevs, and DEATH." 

.Minost the only truth the writer ever remembers to have seen in the government organ, the 
Globe, is its motto — " The tcorld is frorrrncd too mnch." From experience derived from the 
pursuits of business, which has brought the writer in contact with almost every description of 
men, for many years past, he would prefer, were he about commencing business at this time, 
that all laws should be entirely done away for the collection of debts; and he has not a shadow 
of doubt that business would be done much safer than it is at present. The moral character of 
the community would soon rise to a point that fraud would be unknown in the country. The 
discharge of all pecuniary obligations would soon be eonsiilered something sacred, and when 
once departed from, would render t!ie delinquent an outcist wherever he went. Besides, there 
is a principle in human nature, which would iiiipel a debtor always to pay in the absence of any 



66 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

means or attempt at coercion. Even gamblers and blacklegs will pay their illegal debts, con- 
tracted at the gaming-table, sliould they be compelled to steal the money to pay them with, at 
tlie risk of being sent to the penitentiary for the tliefl. But to return to the " Puttcrns." 

■Jrd. Denmark is a kingdom lying in the north of Europe, consisting of North and South 
Jutland, part of Holstein, and several islands lying at the entrance of the Baltic sea; wliich, 
with Iceland, a distant island belonging to Denmark, comprise, in all, 22,000 square miles, and 
contain about 1,900,000 inhabitants. Denmark has also possessions in Greenland, in the West 
Indies, the Feroe Islands in the Northern Ocean, and some other small colonies. Copenhagen, 
built on a morass, is the capital ofDenmark, and contained, in 1826, 90,000 inhabitants. In 
1807, the British government, while at peace with Denmark, sent a fleet of 17 ships, and bom-' 
barded Copenhagen for three days, and carried oft" more than thirty sail of the Danish fleet, and 
all the naval stores ; alleging, as a reason for so base an act, that the French would other- 
wise po.ssess themselves of the same fleet. 

Mr. Hambro, United States Consul at Copenhagen, writes Mr. Woodbury, that "The funds 
botli paid and received for public dues are the silver dollars; whereof 18A make one mark of fine 
silver, or in notes of equal value with the silver dollar. In the duchies, there is still prevailing 
the mode of calculating by old currency, 375 rubles currency being equal to 200 rubles silver." 
The inhabitants of Denmark are very poor, but are probably better ofl" in their circumstances, 
than any '■'■foreign government " yet described. 

4th. Naples, or the Two Sicilies, is a kingdom consisting of the southern extremity of the 
Peninsula of Italy, and the Island of Sicily. It is about 300 miles in length, and 100 in breadth, 
and contains 32,000 square miles, and a population of 6,800,000. Naples is the capital, and 
contains 350,000 inhabitants, 30,000 of which, it is supposed, nightly lodge in the streets. Mr. 
Hammet, our old and worthy consul at Naples, in his answer to Mr. Woodbury, says, '• The rev- 
enue here is collected in the hard coin of the country, in Spanish dollars, at 125 grains each, or 
in htink polizze, payable to the person who has deposited the value, and transferable by endorse- 
ment. The bank i.'isues each polizze only against the deposit of the value. The minister of 
finance directs the kind of funds to be received." 

" The public funds in the bank, and expended by the treasury, where it is presumed there is 
no risk." Again Mr. Hammet says — 

"There are three banks in Naples, S. Giacmno, S. Spirito, and Delia Pieta. They are under 
a regent, and depend from the government. The last two make advances on fawns for a year. 
They arc all institutions more for convenience than speculation. Their polizze., granted only 
against value, are chosen for easy keeping and payinenls, in preference to hard money. There is 
no doubt the extensile circulation of sucli polizze leaves always a large amount of specie in the 
bank, of which the government can avail itself lohmcver its icants require.'' 

This '■'■ pattern foreign government" would suit Mr. Van Buren extremely well. The govern- 
ment banks here described are very similar to the '■'■Sub-Treasury Government Bank; " only in 
Naples the government receives their own paper in payment of public dues, which the framcrs 
of our Sub-Treasury Bill refuse to do. Our future Executive will, however, be enabled by its 
provisions ti avail itself of the specie in its vaults, as readily as '■'■can" the " Pattern foreign 
government" of Naples. The people in this kingdom are miserably poor, and thousands go 
nearly naked, while public officers, princes, priests, and monks, are as plenty as locusts, and live 
on the best of the land. 

5th. Bavaria is a kingdom of German}'', containing 32,000 square miles, and 3,000,000 inhab- 
itants. Munich is the capital of Bavaria, and contains 60,000 inhabitants. 

Mr. RuedorftVr. Consul for the United Stales at Municli, writes Mr. Woodbury, that '■' AH 
goods which come from foreign countries must be brought to tlie Custom House, and the duly 
is paid in Bavarian or Prussian money. The cashier is accountable for all funds that he receives, 
and he has, further, the order to send them, as soon as he has the sum of 500 florins, to the 
department of the treasury." Bavaria is ranked, in point of power, among the foremost of the 
secondary governments of Europe. King '• Otiw," tlie present Tyrant of Greece, is a prince 
of the house of Bavaria. 

6lli. SwEOKN is a Cf)ld and barren kingdom in the north of Europe, nearly enclosing the 
Baltic sea. It is 1,000 miles long from north to south, and 300 broad trom east lowest; in- 
cluding Lapland, it contains 343,000 square miles, with a ])opulation of 3,500,000. Stockholm, 
situated on a bay of the Baltic sea, is the capital, and contains about 100,000 inhabitants. Mr. 
Arfwedson, United States Consul at this place, writes Mr. Woodbur}-, that "All kinds of rev- 
enue in this country are collected in Swedish money, cash, cither by bills of the Bank of 
Sweden, or in silver." 

'■ The cashiers of the different departments, viz. the Custom House, the Post Office, etc., are 
ordered to deposit the funds collected immediately in the Bank of Sweden, at Stockholm, 
against receipt." This is a government bank. 

A woman's wages in this '■•foreign government" is about six dollars a year. It is stated as a 
fact, that foundered horses are unknown in Sweden, owing to their being kept standing on per- 
forated boards, without litter. If this is so, the writer thinks it would be well to ^^ Pattern" after 
this •\foreign. <rovrrnmcnt" in that respect, as well as in a '■'■government bunk," Perhaps Mr. 
Woodbury will favor us with some correspondence on the subject. 

7th. Prussia is a large country, lying It the north and east of Germany, a part of which is 
couip )sed of territories formerly belonginir to Germany. Its government is an ahsolute monarchy. 
It contains 105,770 square miles, and 12,552,278 inhabitants. ^Berlin is the capital, and contained 



BY A LABORING MAN. 67 

in 1803, 153,198 inhabitants. Mr. VViioaton, United States Minister to U\a Prussian Majesty, 
iifler slating tlie different kinds of funds received in payment of government dues, informs Mr. 
Woodbury, that, "At the same time, instead of payinir in specie, it was permitted to pay the 
public contributions in the paper money of the government." Tliis paper money tlie writer 
presumes to be the I'ru.ssian Treasury Notes, before alluded to, and which were said to be at all 
times above par, and answer very much in description to what will probably be the currency 
produced by the Sub-Treasury, a bill for which is now before Congress. It is said that the 
present ^'■Absolute Monarch " of Prussia is of a benevolent and kind disposition, and that he does 
every thing in his power for the good of his subjects, who, although enslaved, and very poor, 
are better provided for, in regard to public schools, tiian any people on earth. While Mr. Van 
Buren is paUcrniti^ after the ^'■foreign govurnmvnt" of this '■'■Absolute Monarch," in respect to 
his Sub'TrfAib-iin/, it would, perhaj).<i, be as well that he should likewise pattern after him in some 
other respects, and, in his ne.xt annual message, recommend some plan of general education, to 
be supported by the sales of the national domain, should there be any balance left after the 
Western States have received a suliicient quantity of the lands to pay them for their aid in the 
two ne.xt )>residential elections. 

8th. AUSTRl.A is an extensive empire, lying in the central and southern part of Europe, 
and consisting of several ancient kingdoms, duchies, and republics, and contains 3U0,UOO square 
miles, and 'J8,(JU0,000 inhabitants. Vienna, situated on the Danube river, is its capital, and 
contains 290,000 inhabitants. In answer to Mr. Woodbury's '■'■string of questions," Mr. J. 
Randolph Clay, Secretary of Legation at Vienna, ha.s, in imitation of Consul Trist, made him- 
self a decided partisan, and has occupied ten pages in proving the great advantages of the system 
pursued by Austria in the management of its internal aiiliirs, and in the collection and disburse- 
ment of its revenues. His remarks, the writer would suppose, must bo particularly grateful to 
Mr. Woodbury and his master. On the very first page, Mr. J. Randolph Clay says, "The 
colh'ction of the indirect ta.xes is intrusted to a distinct class of otBcers. 1 have not been able 
to ascertain the e.xact amount derived from this branch of the revenue, but the want of such 
information is of little consequence, as I am told the treasury is not benefited by them, as their 
collection, owing to the GRKAT NUMBER OF OFFICERS employed, co.sts MORE than the 
indirect taxes produce, and it is ccen asserted tliat tiie government woujil gain by abolishing 
them. If it be asked why thev are continued, the answer is, that, acting upon the principle that 
a GREAT NUMBER OF OFFICJ-^RS employed in the service adds strength to the STATE," 

— Buonaparte said he was the '■•state.' — Mr. Benton calls Buonaparte a "■great man." — Quere 

— did Mr. Benton ever dream of becoming tiio "^T.VTE.^" — "the government retains thereby 
a class of FAITHFUL ADIIERENTS,^who would be thrown out of employment, and left 
UNPROVIDED for, by the abolition of the indirect ta.vcs." 

Well done, Mr. .1. Randolph Clay, you have owned the truth by proxy for Mr. Van Buren. 
" Great numhcr of officers strengthen the state " — "faithful adherents unprovided for ! " Well done, 
again, Mr. J. Randolph Clay. How wonderfully pleased our American fanners will be to pay 
their taxes, for the sole purpose of providing for Mr. Van Buren's or Mr. Benton's •\faithful 
ADHERE^JTS." Austria is a "PATTERN" worth imitating; she does nothing by halves. It 
seems that even an American, by breathing the atmosphere of serfs and slaves for a short time, 
forgets the sentiments of freemen, and really thinks it a very commendable policy to appoint 
public officers for the express purpose of making '■ faithful adherents " of government. It must 
have been in imitation of this " Pattern," that the revenue officers at New York, as before stated, 
have been appointed. Mr. J. Randolph Clay further says, "The revenue is collected at 
Vienna, and tiiroughout the empire, in silver, or in notes of the Bank of .Austria, wliich are re- 
deemable in specie at any time at the Bank of Vienna, or its branches; ul the whole financial 
operations of the empire are under the direction of the Minister of Finn : •(■ 

After a long description of the Bank of Austria, and other remarks o.. i lo mode of keeping 
and disbursing tlie public money by the "foreiirn government" of Ausuia, Mr. J. Randolph 
Clay s.^ys, "The foregoing remarks will siiow, that the Austrians have, in fact, a 'SUB- 
TREASURY ' system, under the control of the Minister of Finance, and that the public funds 
are collected, disbursed, and expended, without the aid of a National bank." 

So it seems, according to Mr. J. Randolph Clay's statement, that Austria is enjoying all the 
benefits of a ^'■Sub-Treasury Systrrn," altliough, as he describes it, the Austrian Sub-Treasury 
is not one half as bid as is the '• Sub-Treasury system" about being adopted in the United 
States. Austria is divided into 12 provinces. In writing of Hungary, one of them, Mr. J. 
Randolph Clay says, "The population is divided into five classes, viz. CLERGY, HIGH 
NOBLES, PETTY Nour.Es, inhabitants of towns, and peasants. Among the great privileges 
enjoyed by the nobles and clergy is that of exemption from all taxes. The peasants, on the 
contrary, are not only deprived of all civil rights, but besides the onerous services they are 
obliged to render to their lords, such as t ) labf>r 104 out of 'Mo days, and to pay to the lord 
the 0th part of the whole produce of the land, they pay the tithes to the clergy, and beur, 
together with the inhabitants of towns, (not nnble,) all the expenses of the state. The situation 
of the Hungarian peasant is, therefore, miserable in the extreme ; he tastes the very essence of 
.oppression — the support of a government in which Ik^ has no voice. The Austrian govern- 
ment is not chargeable witli tliis state of things, as it existed before Hungary was annexed to 
the empire, and the Constitution of tlie province precludes any intervention of the General 
Government in behalf of the peasantry, without the consent of the diet. The members of the 
diet, being all chosen from the higher orders, dinar to their old privileges, and as the burden 



68 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

does not press on themselves, have nn sympat'ny for the peasants. * * * * In Transylvania, 
likewise, only the citizens of towns and peasants pay." 

Mr. J. Randolph Clay says tliat the Bank of Austria is not a government hank, although Jie 
admits the emperor apjjoliUs its president, to prevent abuses. J. Randolph Clay represents the 
" Sub-Treasury "" system of Austria as beiiisr almost perfect, and says that the reason tliere is 
never any surplus money in it, is owing to the "■immense nuvibcr of officers, a standing arm ij, 
and abuses in other departments." 

Venice is one of the provinces of Austria; in which part of Austria, the people are, perhaps, 
as comfortable as in most sections. The writer was in the city of Venice some montiis since, 
and, in passing over tiie bridge called the Rialto, he observed in the shop windows, small, square 
pieces of pork, cheese, &c., of different sizes, but generally very small, (many of them not 
larger tlian some of our hungry office-seekers would swallow at one mouthful,) there being a 
label attached to each, with the price affixed. The price marked struck the writer as being 
very low, supposing it meant so much a pound. .His interpreter, however, informed him it was 
the price of an ounce, there being but few who were able to purchase such luxuries by the 
pound. An ounce or tv.o of pork would grease bread enough for a large family. Venice is 
mostly intersected by canals, answering to streets, and boats called gondolas, are used to convey 
people to different parts of the city. Having engaged one of these boats, and observing the 
boatmen to be eating their dinners, the writer requested his interpreter to tell him what it con- 
sisted of. Without ceremony, they showed him all they had, vvliich consisted entirely of Indian 
corn bread, made of a small kind of yellow corn, or niuize, common in Italy. They had nothing 
to eat with it of any description; and j^et these men were considered among the most favored 
class of the Venetian laborers. 

The Austrian currency is composed mostly of adulterated silver, with so bad an alloy, that, in 
counting a small sum, the hands are rendered quite black. To get this exchanged into pure 
silver, a large premium must be paid. It has been stated by the advocates of a specie currency, 
that its introduction w"onld prevent losses by internal e.xchanges. This is a great mistake, at 
least so far as the writer's e.xperience in specie countries enables him to judge, in an expend- 
iture of a few thousand dollars in specie countries, the writer lost more by exchanges, than iie 
had done in the United Slates on a business amounting to many hundred thousand dollars, 
previous to the war on the banks. Gold is always at a standing premium in France and Italy, 
one and a half per cent, over silver, on account of the convenience of carriage and keeping; 
and, until bankers had established a correspondence throughout Italy with France and England, 
robberies and murders were of constant occurrence on the higliways, owing to travellers being 
compelled to have so much specie with tliem. The plan adopted now by strangers who visit 
Italy and Austria is, to deposit their funds in London or Paris, and obtain from the bankers in 
those cities circular letters of credit, addressed to the various bankers on tiie route they intend 
pursuing. And at each town of importance tiiey get what money they immediately require, for 
which they pay the current rate of exchange, which varies weekly, and also a banker's com- 
mission of one per cent., and frequently some other trilling charges. If, again, gold is taken, 
whicli is often necessary, one and a half per cent, additional premium must be paid. Since the 
adoption of this mode of providing funds by travellers, robberies are of rare occurrence. If our 
delic lie rulers werf compelled to receive tiieir salaries in a specie currency, similar to that of 
Austria, they would find their hands would be more soiled witji its handling than they arc by the 
"JVtIiij hank hills" they pretend so much to despise. 

Trieste, on the Adriatic sea, is the principil seaport of Austria, from which immense quan- 
tities of rags are exported to England and the United States, as are also a great many from Italy. 
There are tv/o reasons for this; one is, that Italy and Austria are almost exclusively specie 
countries, and therefore the rags are not needed to make '^ rag bills;" another reason is, that the 
people are so oppressed and ignorant, that they use no books or paper for scarcely any purposes. 
It is said to be a fact, that the rags wiiich are brought from these specie countries, require twice 
or thrice the washincr and cleaning before be'ing manufactured into paper, that tliose do that 
are collected in the llnited States or in England, where tiie '■'■false system" of credit exists. 
Tho fact is, rags are rags in specie countries. The people arc so poor, that they wear their 
clothes as long as they will any how hang together, and long after they will bear washing. In 
many provinces of Austria, the farmers, called serfs, belong to the soil, as it is termed, on which 
they stay, and are sold and transferred with the land. Upon the whole, the writer is of opinion, 
that the " pattern " ^'foreign giirtraaienl " of Austria, would be in greater favor with Mr. Van 
Bureii and h\s ^'■faithful adhir( nts," th-Mi w'lih iho pi:o/ile oi' ihe United States. Tlie Austrian 
"Sub-Treasury system " docs not, however, admit of an issue of as many transfl'r and other 
drafts, necessary to make a circulating medium, as Mr. Van Buren would like. That difficulty 
is. however, completely obviated by the bill for a treasury bank, now before Congress, which 
has been rejected by the ])eople and their representatives three different times, but which will 
now probably be carried into effect, " despiii- tlieir himentalion." 

9tli. France is a large country in Europe, .7)3 miles in length, and 420 in breadth, and contains 
107.400 square miles. In ItJ^O'llie population amounted to ;50,4-")l,lH7. Paris is its capital, and 
is situated on both sides thi^ Seine river, and contained, in 18:51, 774, :?:1S inhabitants. France 
wa^ mostly in the possession of tin- Romans for some centuries after the Christian Era. From 
4.30 to 4.')2 it was ravaged by the Huns under Attila, who was defeated by Merovieus at Orleans, 
with the loss of ■2)0,000 men. In 402 Clovis wns crowned king, and was the fust of a race of 
17 kings, hi 737 Charles Martel became king. In 732 Pepin was crowned king, and was the 



BY A LABORING MAN. 69 

first of a race of 13 kings. Pcpin was succeeded by Charlemagne the Renowned, crowned in 
800. In Df^i) llugli Capet became kinjr, and was the first of a race of 14 kincrs. In 13:34 the 
crown devolved on Philip of Valoi.s, who was the first ol'a race of 7 kings. In 14S)8 it d(>volved 
on the Duke of Ork'ans, the crafty Louis the Eleventh, who very much resembled Mr. Van 
Buren in his nianceuvres, and was the first of a race of G kings. In 15d9 Henry of Bourbon 
was crowned king, in whose line it continued until tlio beheading of Louis the Si.xteenth, on the 
21st of January, 17'.I3. A repubfican form of government was now attempted, as well as its 
handmaid, a paper currency; but the people lacked suil'icient virtue and intelligence to sustain 
eitlier, and in 1603 they elected Napoleon Buonaparte Consul for life, who managed to have 
hunseif proclaimed Emperor of France, in May, 1804. On the 3d of May, 1614, Louis the 
Eighteenth ascended the throne. In 18^24 Louis died, and Charles Pliilip, Count of Artois, 
was Clowned king. In July, 1S30, he was expelled for encroachments on the rights of the 
people, and Louis Pliilippe has since reigned. Tlie irovernment of France, at present, approaches 
nearer to that of England, than any country in Europe. During tlie military despotism of 
Napoleon, a specie currency was adopted and supplied by the plunder of nearly all of the sur- 
roundincr nations, including the churches of Spain and Itiilv, from which immense amounts of 
gold and silver were obtained for coinage. But, altliough tlie laws for the collection of the rev- 
enues in that currency is still nominally in force, custom has abrogated them, and (Switzerland 
e.vct'pted) I'Vance stands now next to Enjrland of any country in Europe, as regards tlie liborality 
of her iiislitutions. Mr. Daniel Brent, United States Consul at Paris, writes Mr. Woodbury, 
that '-The revenue in France ought to be universally collected in specie, and if the accountants 
take bills, ttc, they always do it at their own risk." * * » * » 

"The Treasurer is the only kee|)er of the public funds. Until lately, there was no surplus; 
but now there is a heavy one, wliich is deposited at the Bank of PVance, and for whicii it does 
not receive any interest, althoiitrli the. hank has the vnjoiimcnt of the, inonci/^ ' — an old '' Mossricn " ! 

Mr. Anderson, Secretary of Legation at Paris, writes Mr. Woodbury, that "The h/uik notes 
of the B/inIc of France, are reirarded as drafts on Paris." " When there is a want o)i paper on 
Paris, the receivers general forwiird their surplus in specie by the stnge lines." 

A larire standing army is ke|)t in the jiny of tlie government of France, on a plan somewhat 
similar to that lately ])roposed for the United States by Mr. Van Buren, through his '■■unit," the 
Secretiry of War; and the plan for which, the writer has no doubt, has emanated from Thomas 
II. Benton, who looks forward to tlie time when he shall be able to perfect and control both it 
and tlie public purse — and thereby make himself the *' (jrcat man," and Emperor of a Western 
Empire, in imitation of Napoleon Buonaparte, whose character lie so much venerates, and so 
often alludes to. Mr. Benton, however, will never make a Buonaparte; although he may a 
Robespierre, should circumstances favor the full development of his schemes. — The peo])le of 
France are perhaps better off than any Continental country in Europe except Switzerland, but 
they are nevertheless generally very poor, and not to be compared with the same class, in 
America, in point of the enjoyment of the comforts of life. The price of labor, on an average 
throughout France, is at the present time from 10 to lU cents per day, and the laborers board 
themselves. — They of course can afford to eat but little animal food. The farmers and laborers 
wear shoes made of wood. Interest of money is from four to six per cent. Calling the average 
rate five per cent., and the average day's labor and board 13 cents, and it will require 11^2 days' 
work of a man to jiay the annu.il interest of .^)00 dollars, whilt>, in Ameiicri, calling the rate of 
interest (i per cent., and the price of labor and board one dollar jier day, 30 days' work and board 
of a man will pay the annual interest of .'jOO dollars — showing the American lal)orer to be better 
off, by more than six f)ld, than tlie French Inborer. This rule of interest, and price of labor and 
its product, is perhajis the most correct standard to test the comparative advantages enjoyed in 
any country, as regards the capitalists and the productive classes. 

Tlie exp-nses of the French Government in 16'.].), amounted to 970,3r)iJ,224 francs, or nearly 
2 )0.00l),(»()0 dollars, which was 500,000 dollars more than the revenue for the same period. This 
would absorb the products of about 1500,000,0011 days' labor of the productive classes — while in 
t'.ie United Stales the same sum would require the products of only 200,000,000 days' labor, being 
les-; than one sixth part the labor that is re(piired in France to pay the same amount. — The day 
laborer in France probably gives not less than two days' work out of every three, for the support 
of irovernment and an idle aristocracy, and for the use of capital — but Ikat is nolhuiir compared 
with what they give in some others of Mr Van Buren's "P.\ttf.rn " " Foici<rii Gorernmmts." 

The averaii(' price of manual labor in Sweden is ab >ui 12 cents per day, and the laborer boards 
himself In the German States, it is something less than in France. 

10th. Great Britain and Ireland are two islands, lying on the western const of Europe. 
Gnvit Britain cimprlses England, Scotland and Wales, and is ."iSO mil(\-i in length an i from d!) 
to :'•()( in breadth. In 1'3I, Great fJritain cnntained 13,H!t4,571 inhabitants. Ireland lies west 
of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish sea and St. George's channel, and is 
3m0 miles in length, and about 110 in breadlli, and contained, in 1831, 7,73l,3')5 inhabitants. 
These two islands constilote what is called the Kingdom of (]reat Brifaln and Ireland. The 
tot i| population of the British Empire tlirou;rliout the world, includin:; nil its colonies in Europe, 
Asia, Africa, New Holland, and America, amo\ints to about 150,000,000 iiihabiiants. London, 
situated on the Thames, is its capital, and contained, includinir its suburbs, in the year 1700, a 
population of ((74.350. In the year 1800, one century later, it contained !1()7,448 inhabitants; 
and in 18 !I, it contained 1.474,06D inhabit ints. London may truly be said lo be the centre 
p lint or heart of the world's commerce. When Enjrjand commenced encourarrlnir and fosterinsj 
her present credit and proteclive policy — called '• /(cr /a/sc system" by Mr. Benton, (who 



70 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

probably put the same phrase in the mouth of Mr. Van Buren,) it was denounced by some of her 
statesmen — who predicted the most disastrous consequences, especially to commerce, from its 
adoption. So far ironi these predictions having been fulfilled, that apparently little insignificant 
Island King-dom, at this time, probably engrosses a greater amount ol the commerce of the world 
than all of the other nations of Europe combined — and together with the United States of 
America, the only other country on earth where credit and Banks exist to any extent, probably 
engrosses more than one half of the world's commerce. These are the two countries which are 
said to be laboring under a "False Si/ston," ruinous to commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, 
— but which, with a population (excluding colonies) of less than 40,000,1)00, now possess more 
shipping, more manufactures, and e.xporl more products than all the nations of the world besides 
combined, containing an aggregate population of more than 8f)0,000,000, and nearly all of them 
enjoying the blessing of a specie currency, and free from the burdens imposed by a '■ False 
System." The man who will wilfully adopt theory for such experience, is worthy of being a 
supporter of our present "pure and virtuous" administration. The writer has no doubt tliat 
such men as Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Woodbury, know no better than what they 
say on these subjects, owing to a want of sound sense and jreneral information — but it is not so 
with those prime movers, Messrs. Kendall, Benton, Blair, and Co. They well know that the 
measures now in progress at Washington, are calculated to produce the directly contrary effect 
they pretend, and that if carried out tliey will reduce the people of this country to a level with 
those of Continental Europe — while at the same time, those attached to the government will 
be elevated to the same position as the aristocracy in those countries. As has been before stated, 
the people of Great Britain are at this time laboring under many heavy burdens. Besides their 
industry being taxed for the support of an established priesthood, a hereditary nobility, and of an 
expensive government, they have to pay the annual interest of an enormous public debt, which 
on the 5th 'of January, 1839, amounted to £701,347,090, or $3,0.")4,4G8,9]'>, the annual interest 
and charges on which amounted at that time to 137,210,410 dollars. This debt was mostly 
contracted during the long war with Napoleon, when England (with most other European coun- 
tries) was striving for her very existence, and was not only obliged to support her own share of 
the general war, but was also necessitated to subsidize many of the impoverished specie countries 
on the Continent, to enable them to sustain themselves. So far from the magnitude of this debt 
proving the protective and credit policy of England to be a "false system," the ability she 
possesses to 3'early pay its interest goes to prove the direct contrary. — The revenue of Great 
Britain for 1838, from all sources, amounted to $250,197,400, and her expenditures, including 
interest of the public debt, to 252,318,187 dollars — being about 50,000,000 dollars annually 
greater than that of France; notwithstanding which, the English laborer is in much better 
circumstances than the French, or any otiier laborer in Euro])e, with perhaps the exception of 
those of Switzerland — although, when compared witb the same class in America, they appear 
miserable indeed. In England, the price of labor is full double what it is in France, while the 
expense of living is only about one quarter greater. It is considered that a Sovereign or $4,85 
cents, will pay for about as much in England as a Napoleon, about 4 dollars, will pay for in 
France — as regards the necessary articles of consumption. 

In travelling through England, the stranger is forcibly struck with the great indications of 
weallli he sees in eveiy quarter, and the neat appearance of the cottages of the poorer classes, 
and the air of comfort tiiey possess. Notwithstanding the great amount of suffering and priva- 
tion which there undoubtedly exists, owing to the provision of the poor laws, beggars are seldom 
seen, and almost every person met is comfortably clothed. Tliere are no doubt many individu- 
als suffering under deep privations, who are unconsciously passed by the stranger, and who 
manifest no signs of their real situation, from a laudable sentiment of pride, possessed by the 
poorer classes of the iMiglish in an eminent degree, and which sentiment is cherished and fos- 
tered by the national institutions. This pride is not without its benefits, and is no doubt fre- 
quently the means of sustaining many, for whom the world would otherwise prove too hard, and 
whose spirits without its aid would break down under the load they are necessitated to bear. To 
confirm this, the writer will relate an anecdote, which he is well aware will scarcely be believed by 
many, but which is nevertheless strictly true. Some months since he made a hasty tour through 
a considerable part of England, and a small part of Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland, the people 
ap|)eared to be as badly off as in any Continental country lie had seen ; but it was very different 
in England and in Scotland. In Edinburgh (in Scotland) the writer ]uirchased a pair of boots, 
and had those he had before worn done up in abundle and thrown into the post chaise, intending 
to give thein to the first person he saw whose appearance indicated need of them. Me was anxious 
to get rid of them as soon as possible, as it was the custom to cliange these post chaises every 5 
or 10 miles, and all the baggage consequently was changed at the same time, and there was be- 
sides but little room to put it. From Edinburgh he proceeded through the south of Scotland to 
Carlisle, in the north-west of England, and from thence tlirough Kendal, Preston, Manchester, 
and Leeds to York — stopping several nights and some days on the route, and travelling several 
hundred miles — during which time he did notsec one man, to whom he dared to offer the boots, 
(so comfortably were all clad,) for fear of wounding his feelings ; and he at length threw them 
out of a railroad car whilst in rapid motion, opposite a person who was sitting in a desponding 
attitude on a fence near York. This circumstance is more singular as the counlry passed through 
comprised many 'innunicturing districts, where the greatest amount of suffering prevails. In 
Fraiicr', the writer could not have proc(M'ded one stage before he wo\ild have been surrounded 
by begirnrs, whose supplicant looks, and desolate appearance, would have afforded him aniple 
proof of their destitute circumstances, and of theit consequent readiness to iiave received the boots. 



BY A LABORING MAN. 71 

And in Italy not a man scarcely could have been met, unless he was a prince, a priest, or a gov- 
ernment officer, who would not liave run the risk o^"his life to have obtained them. 

Mr. Thomas Aspinwall, United States Consul at Loudon, writes Mr. Woodbury that — *' The 
revenue is collected at tlie port of Londoji in coins of the realm. Bank of England notes and 
E.Ycliequer hills, by direction of the Lord Commissioners of the Tn^asury. Excheipier bills are 
never paid in, unless when at a discount in the market. Payments to tlic amount ot' Jice pounds 
and upward, are almost e.'^clusively made in bank notes, and smaller payments in com." 

" The Bank of England is by law the Banker of the government, and the principal de])ository 
of the revenue of Great Britain. It is responsible for the safe keeping and for regularly account- 
ing for all j)ublic balances, for the integrity and fidelity of its own oflicers, but not for loss by 
civil commotion." — Again Mr. Aspinwall says — '• Bank notes being a legal tender throughout 
the Kingdom, payments may be required in them, or else in coin. But in ])oint of fact, payments 
are generally made in whatever happens to be the ordinary currency of the place." 

This it seems is the mode adopted in collecting and in keeping the public revenues of the great- 
est commercial, the greatest manufacturing, the greatest agricultural, (in proi)ortion to its terri- 
tory,) and the wealthiest nation on earth — collecting and disbursing yearly revenues to at least 
tw(-lve times the amount received in the United Stales — and that too without the cost or loss 
of a penny, and without the intervention of " Iron Safes," '• Vaults," sub-treasuries, '• imprison- 
ment, ^alleys, or death." 

It is this system being practised, by the British government, and which is nearly or quite simi- 
lar to tliat formerly practised in the United States, which has called down such anathemas on 
the '■'false si/stcm " of tiiat country as well as our own, from such men as Thomas II. Benton 
and Martin Van Buren. 

Let us pause and ponder for a moment, and ask how it is, that Ihosc two nations, that are thus 
burdened by these '-false sijsUms," which are so ruinous to trade, to eonmierce, to manufacto- 
ries, to agriculture, and to the welfare of man, should have hapjjened to lake the lead of all the 
nations of the earth in respect to them all ? — What advantages does England possess over other 
nations of Europe, excepting in her institutions.' What advantage does the United States pos- 
sess over otlier nations in America, excepting in her institutions ? Destroy them, and we siiall 
soon be reduced to a level with others. It is the inslitutions of a country that, in a great meas- 
ure, form the characters of its inhabitants. It matters but little what may be their descent. 
Bring a hundred children from all parts of Europe, from England, from France, from Spain, 
from Ital}', from Russia, even from Turkeij, and let them be brought up in New England, and 
they will become Yankees. On the contrary, carry a hundred children from New England to 
Italy, let them be brought up, or grow up, or covi.e up with the children of that country, and 
ihcy will, in their habits, become Italians. Their variety' of dispositions would be manifested in 
ways cong(!nial to the institutions of the country in which they live. The nobler and better 
<iualities of their nature would be crushed in Italy ; and the poor boy who, when brought up in 
the genial moral climate of New England, would have been an ornament to his country, and a 
blessing to mankind, in Italy might perhaps have been a mendicant in the streets of Rome. The 
character of our people will be assimilated to that of the people of other countries, very much in 
proportion as we adopt their institutions. 

In the United States, political power is to be reached by a. gieni profession of love a^jid regard 
for till' People. In Rome. ])olitieal power is only to be acquired by great professions of superior 
sanctity, and of veneration for the Deity. 

Martin Van Buren and Thomas H. Benton were educated in the United States. Their ruling 
passion was the love of power — to accpiire which, liielr lives have been devoted to intrirriie, and 
the study of the prejudices of the people, and of the best n)i>des of dccciviiiir them, llad these 
same men been educated in Rome, the same ruling passion for the acquisition of j)ower would 
have impelled them to have become lii/pocrite.s in religion, instead of hypocritical ''• lovers of the 
people,'' and they would probably have been among the most zealous of the Popish monks — 
walkin<r perhaps barefoot to the Church of St. Peter, and kissinir the worn out toe of his statue 
— or kneeling by the hour before the hundred dim lights that ever burn over the shrine where that 
apostle's ashes are said to repose. Tluis l)y me.'ins of the sanie crafty and intriguing disposition, 
but di'veloped in a diifcrent shape, ins'ead of being made President of the United Stales, Martin 
\';\n linren would have probably been elevated to the chair of the Holy Apostolic Father, and 
would have been a Pope at Rome ; and that demure, and humble monk of tlie order of St. Fran- 
cis, Father Benton, steeped in sanctity, his shaved head wrapped in a cowl, clothed in sackcloth, 
and encircled by the cord of his order, would have probably been his successor. This is 
not romance — all who have studied human nature enough to understand how the same pro- 
p(,msilit's exhibit themselves under different circumstances, will acknowledge the truth of the 
forei/oing remarks. 

There is a small bird in New Enirland called a quonqueedle. The same bird is known in 
Pennsylvania, with a different plumage, as the reed bird. In Carolina, it again shifts its plu- 
mage, and is known as the rice bird; and in England, it is still of a different color, and called an 
ortolan, where it becomes n dainty dish at the tables of the great. So with men, they change 
their character not only witli the cliriiate, but with their insti'niions. and some will chaniic their 
character as readily as does t!ie q-ioaqiiecdle its plurianre. Martin Van Buren, for instance, is a 
Quonqueedle when addressinijr himself tn the iuteres's of New England — a Reed bird to Penn- 
sylvania — a Ri.re bird to the Southern States — and he was a most delicate Ortolan ni the tables 
of the Aristocracy in Eno-land. 

NARRAGANSETT. 



72 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN ■ 

[From the Newport, R. I., FleralJ of the Times, April 16, 1840.] 

No. 10. 

Mr. Van Burcn's " Foreign Government " " Patterns " concluded — tclth some Re- 
?narks respecting 3Ir. Van Burcn's, Mr. Benton's, Mr. Calhoun's, and Mr. 
Walker's FAVORITE PATTERN, the Island of Cuba. 

The writer lias in previous communications given a hasty sketch of some of the prominent 
features in the seventeen European " Patterns," furnished the people of the United Slates by 
Mr. Van Bnrcn and his " iinil," Mr. Woodbury. — Beside these there are some other '■•foreign 
gorcrmncnts" existing in America, and included in Mr. Woodbury's returns, not yet rehearsed. 
— These are — 

1st. Mexico is a country of North America, and contains 1,7*^0,000 square miles, and 7,000,000 
inhabitants. Mexico was formerly a province of Spain, and was conquered by tiie infamous 
Cortes soon after the discovery of America, who committed the most unlieard of cruelties upon 
the poor Indians. The city of Me.\'ico, situated on Lake Tezcuco, is its capital, and formerly 
contained 80,000 houses. The on!}' commentary necessary to make on this " pff^^^; m " of Mr. 
Van Buren's Vvill be simply to slate, that Mr. John Black, United Stales Consul at Tampico, in- 
forms Mr. Woodbury that the revenue is collected i^n specie, in ccrtijicatis of salaries and in gov- 
ernment drofis, and also he says, " Great abu?es e.xist, which never have been attempted to be 
removed, and more especiall}' among the military men, 7vko have charge of the military chcst.i. 
* * * It is generally supposed that too many individuals are interested in the abuses to have 
them easily abohshed." So much for the Mexico " Pattern," which is probably enough. 

2nd. Brazil is a large country of South America, containing more than 2.000,000 square miles, 
but thinly peopled, and was formerly a province of Portugal, to which the Royal family fled in 
1807, since which its court has been established at Rio Janeiro, its capital. Mr. George M. Sla- 
cum, our Consul at Rio Janeiro, writes Mr. Woodbury — " The revenue is collected in o-oiic/nme/it 
paper, and fractional parts of a milrea are to be paid in copper coin. There beinff no banks of 
issue in this empire, tiiat formerly existing and chartered by King John the Sixth being entirely 
for the conrenience of the treasury, on its charter expiring some years ago, the Government, bemg 
indebted to ;;?o/r than the amount of its issue of paper, assumed the notes of the bank as a gorern- 
rncitt debt, and they form now, with a copper coin made hi/ government, the only circulating me- 
dium of the empire, and are not redeemable in specie on demand, although they so read." 

Mr. George R. Foster, our Consul at St. Salvador in Brazil, informs Mr. Woodbury that the 
revenue at that port is collected in what he calls '■'paper money," being, as ho says, '• treasury 
7iotes," bearing no interest, which have a general circulation throughout the provinces, and notes 
of the late Bank of Brazil, which latter the Government have assumed, and are now about call- 
ing in." It is evident that Mr. Van Buren has already adopted the "■foreign government" of 
Brazil as a " putlcrn," as it regards " trea.siiry notes," and if the writer is not much mistaken, his 
measures will soon render it necessary that we shall adopt its " copper coin " currency also. 

3rd. Uragiiay, a smalj republic of South America, of which but little is generally known, ex- 
cept that Montevideo, its capital and principal seaport, is a place of some trade, and is situated on 
the river La Plata. — The writer thinks this republic is constituted of what was formerly called 
the Binda Oriental, but is not ceitain. Mr. R M. Hamilton, our Consul at Montevideo, writes 
Mr. Woodbury — " That the revenue of this republic is collected, part, say nearly one third, in 
cash, (Spanish and Portuguese gold and silver.) and the balance in tlie acceptances of the im- 
porter, payable in six months, but endorsed by oilier respectable merchants, for^lie duties on all 
foreign goods liable to the same." 

4th. Equator, (or Equador.) a small republic lying on the Pacific ocean, in South America, of 
which the writer does not kriow any thing, and cannot find any one that does. Mr. Sweetzer, 
Consul at Guayaquil, (which Mr. Woodbury puts down as being in Equator) writes Mr. Wood- 
bury — " The revenue in this republic is collected in gold, silver, and government paper. The 
Congress directs the proportion of each." 

.'')lh. New Grenada was formerly a province of (yolonibia, which was until lately an extensive 
republic of South .\merica, lying along the Caribbean sea. and consisted of the former S|)anish 
Provinces of New (Jrenada, Caraccas, and Venezuela, and contained 1,200,000 square miles, and 
3,000,000 inhabitants, Bogota is, or teas the seat of Government, and was formerly the capital 
of New Grenadii, and then called Santa Fe. Its population amounts to 40,00(\ Colombia was 
forriuTly divided into 12 provinces. Mr. Joseph Ayton, Vice Consul at Carlhagena, a seaport 
of New (Jrenada, writes Mr. Woodbury — "The revenue is collected in macoquina, or curren- 
cy ; difference between currency and S|)anish milled dollars, at present !) to 10.^ premium in 
favor of the latter. * * * Finance is so little understood in this country, timinehher yamphlet 
nor hook is published on the subject." 

Cth. Ven<"zuela was also formerly a province of Colombia. Mr. Benjamin Renshaw, United 
Slates Consul at Laguira, a seaport in Venezuela, writes Mr. Woodbury — "The revenue is col- 
lect(<l in cash or protntssory notes, with sureties of three and six motilhs, p:iynble in cash, ac- 
cording to the mitrnitudeof the sum«, anil under the direction of the departiniuil, at the seat of 
Government, as eslabllshed by law of the Congress of Venezuela." — These are the last of Mr. 



• ' BY A LABORING MAN. 7,'5 

V^n Barcn'a "foreign government" "patterns," with the exception of the Outch province 
of Surinam, and the Spanish province, tiie island of Cuba — which last tlie writer will make 
some remarks concprning-, from tlie circumstance that it Ir.JS been held up for imitation as a 
" FATTER.v " superior to any other on earth. 

Cuba is an island in the West Indies, belonging to Spain, and is about 7C0 miles in length and^ 
75 in breadth, containing more tlian 52,000 square miles, being nearly as large as all the six New ' 
England States combined, and possessing greater advantages in soil and climate than almost any 
country on earth. It produces, in abundance, almost every product known in tropical regions. 
The population of this island is about 1,000,000. Havana is its chief seaport and capital, and 
contains about 80,000 inhabitants. 

Mr. Consul Trist, as before stated, has occupied nearly seventy pages, in bis replies to Mr. 
Woodburj-'s questions, in which he eulogizes tlie benefits of a specie currency to the skies, and 
cites the prosperity' of Cuba as a positive proof of its superior advantages over any other species 
ofcurrenc}'. By examining his lengtliy and irrelevant returns, the reader will perceive the 
source from wlience many of our learned members of Congress have dravi'n their principal argu- 
ments in favor of a Sub-Treasury, being copied from Mr. Trist almost word for word, and ilie 
reader will be convinced that they have viewed those countries as being most important, about ■> 
which our consuls have tcritten tlie most. In fact, that source of information would appear to be f 
the only one they possess with regard to them. The tone and character of Consul 'I'rist's re- 
marks carry conviction to the reader's mind, tiiat he is a man entirely unacquainted with 
business, and who imagines himself to have found a " marc's nest," as often as he is informed of 
the mode pursued by business men in the most common and daily transactions of life. 

Consul Trist writes Mr. Woodbury — 

" TliiMiicoino ol' the public treasury 13 collected altojetlior in ^oZ<Z nnrf .9i7i'cr com. * * * The v.'iult or place of 
sure keepinj; is secured by throe locks; the ke)"' ofwhioli are severally in the custody of tlio Secretary of the Iiiicnden- ' 
cii,\\vi accninitant ircncral, '.md tho trrn^urcr general, v.lio ure forbidden to intru-it their keys to eiicli other, or to any 
person not specinlly designated bylaw, for cases of sickness, under any pretext whatever." 

Mr. Trist says, the public funds are paid out in the same identical gold and silver coins received 
in payment of the revenue : '■^ nothing else." * * * « 

" Fiunl,- are tr:nnmitted to the scat of guvoniment, or from any point of the island to another, iilmost alv.ays by 
moan;; of bills! ofcxchunge, bought of raercbunts at the premium or the discount of the day. Remittances of speclo are 
of very rare occurrence, and bapprm only wlien safe bill* cMnnot be procured on favorable terms. Such remittances are 
always insured ; wiien by land, they are under the protection of a guard ; when by sea, under the cu.^lomary safeguards 
of commerce, if the amount bo considerable, the navy (io;>artment furnishes ave.ssel of war, the coiiunaudor of which 
receives one half per cent, for tlio trouble and responsibility attending his charge." 

Mr. Trist says, there is no currency known in t!ie blessed Island of Cuba but gold and silver 

— and from his foregoing remarks, it is evidently emphatically a specie country, and that the 
agency of " mural character" is no more relied upon as a security for the safety of the public 
money, intrusted to the three key keepers, than it is in the provisions of Mr. \'an Buren's plan of 
a Sub-Treasury, by which the President is made the keeper of the key keepers, and of course the 
money must be safe. Mr. Consul Trist, in speaking of tiie credit in Cubti, says, '•' Her feet rest 
not on a quicksand, but upon arock;" and after describing the great amount of imports and ex- 
ports ofihe island, which, he says, in the last year (1837) amounted to ^'.22,940,357 of imports 
and ^"20,345,407 of exports, (a ruinous excess of imports, as Mr. Walker would say;) thus compla- 
cently soliloquizes — 

" These are tolerably sure evidences of a stato of active industry and prosperous credit. Nor are they less steathj 
tiian active. Tlicy exhibit no altcroations of feverish excitement and prostration, now rising to tlie energy of delirium, 
now sinking to corrc'spondent enervation. — The sudden stoppaj;e of the curriMit of busine.-<s in all, or in any one, of its 
brunches, is a thing a.s absolutely unknown in this island as the freezing of its rivers ; and its inhabitants possess a3 
little knowkedgo of the one phenomenon as they do of the other. Nay, less : for they not only re.'xd .'uid hear of the 
freezing uf our waters, as they do of thoi.e monetary prodigies in which tlio streams of industry and credit become ar- 
rested in the same way, and wiih equal snddeunes:; ; but, by means of the ice wiiieh our country sends hither, they can 
form a clear conception of the one wonder, and of all the horrors of navigition aniong its whirling and crushing masses, , 
while no such monns of knowledge can be brought home to their senses and feelings in regard to the other. Ice can , 
reach hero without thawing ; but there is a charm about the island which repels the transmission of any specimen of , 
the industry and credit freezing process, or of the currency rot, which delies tlieir introduction, be it in the ever-so-littlo ■ 
quantity that would be necessary to enable its inhabitants to feel what sort of thing they are." 

Happy people, who live on the Island of Cuba ! who can realize the freezing of water 
and its dangers — but whose country possesses a '•' f/i«n« '" that prevents them from feeling 
what sort of thing a credit freezer is, or a " currency rol." Mr. Consul Trist then proceeds in his 
eulogy — 

" 1 nrn here indnliing in no exaggeration. It is the literal truth ; and for the proof that it is so, I refer to the testi- 
mony of the leading merchants of all /lation.^ eslaldished here, which forms a portion of the documents accompanying 
this letter. It is siricily and literally true, that such a thing as a monetary convulsion is absoluUiy unknown in any part 
of this island, which covers an area of almnt forfy-three thousand square miles ; has a line of sca-co.ast of about sixteen ' 
hundred miles ; has nine ports open to foreign commerce, one of which is, ' as a commercial city, seconii to none in tho 
new world, New York only excepted j' has a population amounting to about one million of souls, who, in the last year, 
mainlaiiieii a foreign rxportin; and importing business exrncding/«rti/-(/i)<;(! millions of dollars, after paying taxes to an 
amount which, in the year 1827, (when its exporting and importing business fdl pomething short oi' thirty-two millions,) 
exceeded fourteen millions, and tho rate of which has not since decreased ; and tho governniept of which is an absolute 
monarchy, maintained by the bayonet." 

This specie currency, it seems, is maintained by the " haynnet," as well as that of the specie 
countries before described in Europe. The taxes are also coiisidcraJblc, by Consul Trlst's account 

— ainouiiling to a mere trifle less than the whole exports of tiie island. Tiiis, as before stated 
by the writer, is another specie feature, in most European countries. 

7 



74 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

Consul Trist further sa^'s — 

" The recent convulsion, in which the whole business of our country, from the city of New York to the remotest 
village in the West, exliibitcd the spectacle of chaos come a^'ain, was literally uiifiit here. None but the mercantilo 
class knew that any thing had happened ; and of that class, it did not occasion a moment's uneasiness to any, except 
those whose stability de]iended upon the punctual fulfilment of engagements l)y merchants in the United States or in 
Great Britain. Beyond these, and the few others who may have depended upon credit facilities from them, I do not be- 
lieve that the business of a single man in the island was so much as sensibly slackened by it for a single day, or that a 
single individual received or spent one dollar the less, or so much as ever dreamed that any thing was the matter. 

" For evidence upon this point, from persons far more competent to give it than I can be, I again refer to the accom- 
panying documents. They afford proof of the fact. To estimate the force of that fact, it is necessary to take into 
consideration the extent and intimacy of the commercial connection between the two countries. Of this a conception 
maybe conveyed in a few words. Of t!ie tiro Ihoiu-iaiid five hundred and lirrntii-fvur \esseh of all nations, Spanish 
included, which entered the ports of the island from other parts of the world, during the last year, one thousand three 
hundred and nineteen were Americans." 

Wonderful and astonishing incident, that the people of this '■'■charmed" island should not 
have been atfected by the monetary convulsion of a foreign country, only so far as its citizens 
were connected with it by couunerce ! When will the world's wonders cease .' Consul Trist 
has found a '■'■mare's nest' indeed; and Mr. Benton and Mr. Walker should have an especial 
committee appointed in the Senate, to ascertain the secret '■'■charm" that protects the happy 
people of that favored island from feeling the monetary convulsions of other nations farther than 
they are connected with them by commerce. Verily, Congress should vote Consul Trist a gold 
medal lor his information. 

It seems also, by Consul Trist's statement, that, notwithstanding the '■'■false system" of the 
United States, which is so prejudicial to commerce, still that miserable and burdened republic 
owns more vessels employed in the Cuba trade than all the world besides. And yet the writer 
will venture to say that not one of these vessels, if built in the United States, was paid for in a 
specie currency. How the poor ship-carpenters must have been cheated by the banks ' 

Consul Trist further says — 

" iVow, then, for two other facts, regarding the two most prominent and controlling, if they be not the only, causes, 
that are of a nature to exercise any such influence. Here, on the one hand, is a metallic cvrrency — an exclusive metal- 
lic currency ; and here, also, on the other h.ind, exists an abt^olute monarchy, maintained by the gleam of the bayonet, 
as constantly in the eye of every individual as the rays of the sun or the moon ; and the leading, all-comprehensive 
chiir acteristic of which is, that it regulates every thing and every man, to an extent that is literally inconceivable to 
eii American citizen. These arc two things which exist here, in company with the flourishing commerce. Is either 
of them essentially inin)ical to it .' Is this the nature of the metallic currency i" If yea, then must its prosperity be 
due to the counteracting efficacy of the despotism. On tlie other hand, is the latter essentially inimical to industry, to 
enterprise, to credit, to commerce ? If yea, then must their prosperous state be owing to the influences of the metal- 
lic currency ; and these, so far from being essentially inimical to it, cannot possibly be otherwise than positively salu- 
tary, and that, loo, in so eminent a degree, as, after expending upon the counteraction of the evil influences of a 
despolic goveinment a portion of its efficacy commensurate with their scope and intensity, to have enough remaining 
to afford them all the positive aid which it is in the nature of currency to afl'ord." 

The people of the United States were led to believe the United States Bank was quite a 
regulator; but Consul Trist seems to think they can have no idea of such a '■^ regulator" as 
"regulates every thing and every man" in this '■'■charmed" Island of Cuba, which is Mr. Van 
Buren's, Mr. Woodbury's, Mr. Benton's, Mr. Calhoun's, and Mr. Walker's beau ideal '■'■paltern" 
for America. Verily, when Mr. Benton gets his standing army properly organized, he will show 
the people of the United States that there is nothing like '■'the gleam of the bayonet constantly in 
the eye " to regulate every thing and every man. 

Mr. Consul Trist thus proceeds : — 

" Such is the alternative presented by the facts of the case, considered solely in itself, and with regard to one point 
— the essential compatil)ility or incompatibility between a metallic currency ami a flourishing state of industry, credit, 
and commerce. In this alternative, the Judgment of the most pondering American citizen can experience but lilile 
hesitation. We may now compare the facts of this case with those of another, with a view to another point. 

"In the one case, wo see a flourishing commerce, and that flourishing commerce accompanied with an absolute 
exemption from monetary convulsions or disturbances of any kind or degree whatsoever, great or little, general or 
p irtial. In connection with these two facts, we have also an exclusive metallic currency ; a despotic government, 
with its countless influences, direct and indirect; tropical productions ; tropical indolence of mind and of body, har- 
monizing with and augmenting the efficacy of all those influences of the government which have power dcleteriously 
to affect industry, enterprise, or credit ; road.i which, during a considerable portion of the year, are literally impaasa- 
ldi>, and, at their best, sui-h that the most valuable products of the soil will scarcely bear the cost of a land-carriage 
of fifty miles; the plough in universal use, all over the country, from ils remotest settlement to the fn'lds under the very 
walls of the capital — such that, if a wagon-load of them were emplir'd out at the door of any backwoods settler in 
our country, they would not be dc'cmcd by him of any possible value, unless it were as firewood and old iron. These 
are a few of the particulars, whereof a much longer catalogue might be presented." 

It seems the "gleaming" regulator of this charmed island does not consider roads or ploughs 
cither "things" or "men," else it would regulate them better. By its beneficial regulation 
of the negroes, the necessity of the use of ploughs, and such like costly "things," is probably 
|)retty much dispensed with. On this subject, hear what Dr. Madden says, as published, not 
Jong since, in the Boston Recorder : — 

"The Cost of Sugar. — l)r. Madden, the travcllf^r, now one of the mixed commission at Havana, under the treaty 
for th' suppression of the slave trade, and at present in this country on behalf of the .^mistad, — stated, while in this 
city, one or two observable facts touching the production in Cuba of this necessary of life. He states, from his own 
pt^r.sonal observation, that, during the neason of cultivition, about eiirlit iiidnthg in the year, the slaves are worked 
•1 WEWTV hours out of the Iwcvtijfonr. They iir<! constantly seen dropping asle('p over their work, and as often roused 
hy the whip of \.\w driver. No woman, or not more than one or two to a pi iutation, are allowed on the inland enlates. 
It i< needless to ilwell on this abomin able feature in the economy of the system. The men are of course soon worked 
to d-alh ; and, as the natural increase fills far short of the demand, lb "ir places must be supplied from Africa. This 
plan i-i defended as the most economical and protilable. 'J"hal it is so is proved hy the fi.ct that one slave in Cuba 
produces three orfimr limes the amount of sugar luisud by one in J.imaica before the emancipation. These atrucitieu 



BY A LABORING MAN. 75 

are cliicfly confinDil to tlip interior plantations. The domeBtic slaves of the belter sort of Spaniords are treated with 
preat Immanity, and tlio laws of tlie island are much more humane in their provisions than is generally supposed ; but 
their operatiim is cliielly fell by the towns — that of the inland estates is in general hi-yond their reaeli. 

" In this humane and protitublo husinrss in Cnha, are eng"S'"! niultitudcs of Americans ; many New England men ; 
and, to hur .sliame be it s.iokcn, at least a few Bostonians. Tlie loss of life on an estate owned by one of Die latter, 
when it was in preparation for sujar cultivation, wjs stited, by a pliysiciau who resided upon it in his medical r.npaei- 
ty, to have been /ur«i/ per f<;/(r. I'erlinps these facts, together with the circumstance that the African slave trade i» 
carried on to a great extent by northern capital, northern men, and northern bottoms, and is defended and connived at 
by our iiutioiiul reitresnitutiiic iit Havun i, may help curious inquirers to an ani.wcr to the question whii.h sometimes 
[lerolexes them — ' Wiiat has the North to do with !?lavery .' ' " 

In all of Consul Trist's long dissertations on the " mrtallic ciirrr.anj," " Ihc hacienda," '^com- 
merce," '■'■ aisriculturc," " ij-jiorts," "imports," '■' .iir/iplrmcntal," and olln^r remarks on tlie wiilth 
and prosperity of ("uha, he does not once name the situation of that class of people whose labor, 
vvitli the aid of a luxuriant soil and climate, produces it all, in spite of the blasting effects of a 
specie currency, and the " dazzling gleam " of tlie bayonet ol' an arbitrary government. 

A superficial reader would be led to suppose, from the greM parade made about the wealth 
of the Island of Cuba, by our wise statesmen, sucli as Mr. Benton, Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Walker, 
and others, that it was really far more prosperous, under its specie currcncij, than any other 
country on earth. A little examination of the subject will be sufficient to prove the falsehood 
of sucii an a3.suiiii)lioii, and the superficial views iliat have been taken of it by these worthies, 
in commoa with every other subject of importance connected with the business of a country 
they touch. As before stated, Cuba is blessed with an exceeding fertile soil and climate, and 
produces almost exclusively tropical products; consequentl}', but a very small proportion of its 
produce is consumed at home, but must be sent abroad, and exchanged for all the various 
products an,d manufactured articles of other countries which are needed by its inhabitants. 
This, with many of our harebrained statesmen, constitutes tlie unfailing evidence of the pros- 
perity of a country. For instance, if a cargo of broadcloth, of hats, of boots and shoes, or other 
articles, are made by the people who themselves consume tiiem, and the portion of the popula- 
tion, while making them, are supported by the jiroducts of another class of their own country- 
men, it is of no importance. But let these same articles be imported from a foreign country, 
and paid for by perhaps fitly times their bulk in our own jjroduce, and requiring a great amount 
of shipping to convey it abroad, subject to waste and all the contingencies of trade, and bur- 
dened with an immense cost for transjiortation, — then, in the eyes of these most wise and 
erudite statesmen, these imports assume the character of being of some value, and the country 
is considered prosperous in the same proportion that its citizens are compelled to pay the ex- 
pense of sending their products abroad to exchange for these imports. 

JMr. Consul Trist himself states the population of Cuba to amount to about 1 ,000,000, scat- 
tered over an island containing, as he says, over 40,000 square miles (it is. however, probably 
over 50,000, as before stated) of the richest and most productive soil. He states its exports in 
1837 to have amounted to $20,346,407, which probably was considerably more than one half 
of the whole yearly products of tlie island, from the circumstance, before alluded to, of its 
being a tropical climate. We will call the whole yearly products ,$40,000,000, which is probably 
rather an over than an under calculation for this wealthy and prosperous '■'■pattern." 

We will now turn to the cold, rocky, and barren region of country, called JKeio England, 
where, too, the people are cursed bj' a paper eiineiicy, and a "■false sijstiy}/," and whose inhabi- 
tants, though industrious in their habits, probably, as a people, live more comfortably tlian in 
any part of the world bi'sides, and do not generally work tircntij hours out of twenty-four, as do 
the laborers of the "charmed" Island of Cuba ; consequently, they cannot be expected to pro- 
duce as much under the same circumstances. The people of New England are cJled upon, 
in common with other portions of the United States, to abandon their "false system," that tends 
to impoverish them, and, in the language of Mr. Benton, to "plant themselves on, the solid rock 
of gold and silver," and adopt the specie currency of Cuba. But, before we listen to the 
advice of a man who has proved liitnself, in common with those who .ict in concert with him, 
(to say the least of them,) to havt* been mistaken in the effects of every important innovatiou 
they have made on our institutions for the last ten years, — before we listen again to his advice, 
suppose we make some comparison between our situation, while under the operation of a "falsa 
si/stem," and that of happi/ Cuba, flourishing under the "true system" of Mr. Benton and Mr, 
Van Buren — a metallic currency, and tinc.nty hours' icorlc of her laborers out of ttcenty-foury 
" regulated " by the "gleam of the bayonet." 

Massachusetts, for instance, contains 7,800 square miles, bring about one seventh part as large 
as the Island of Cuba, and contained, at the last census iti 1830, (iI0,400 inhabitants. An esti- 
mate was taken, some few years ago, of the value of the various products of industry in Massa- 
chusetts ; and they were found to amount, if the writer mistakes not, to about 140,000,000 
dollars annually. In this amount was probably included about 20,000,000 dollars of raw mate- 
rials, not the produce of her own industry, leaving 120,000,000 dollars as its annual product, 
being about 1!)7 dollars to each individual of its population; while the products of Cuba, that 
"charmed" garden of the universe, and "pattern" for Amciica, yields but about 40,000,000 
dollars of produce annually, for a population of 1,000,000, or about 40 dollars annually to each 
individual, being about one fifth part of what is produced in Massachusetts; and that, too, while 
Massachusetts is laboring under a "false si/strm," and whose soil is rocky and barren, while 
Cuba has the most luxuriant soil and climate, and is blessed, it seems, with the true system, 
both as regards a currency and labor, and which system is regulated by the "gleaming bayonet," 
to a fraction. 



76 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

The State of Rhode Island contains '1,225 square miles, and is about one fortieth part as large 
as Cuba, with a population of less than 100,000, or one tenth part of tiiat of tlie Island of Cuba. 
With the exception of the island and sea-coast, Rhode Island is mostly poor land ; and yet. by 
aid of its ^^ false sT/stem" of credit, banks, and manufactures, its citizens probably produce ma7-e 
than one half as much yearly, as is produced in the whole ^'■pattern" Island of Cuba. 

It seems by Mr. Consul Trist's own confession, that although Cuba is blessed with a metallic 
currency, it is not by any means perfect. — He says — 

"Nor is it undeserving of mention, that the metallic currency which here affords such manifestntions of the in- 
fluences inseparable from its nature is far from being a perfect one. It consists of the gold ounce and its fractions, 
half, quarter, and eighth, at the arbitrary value of seventeen dollars ; while the silver in circulation consists altogether 
of the two lowest silver fractions of the dollar, the eighth and the sixteenth, in the small quantities requisite for making 
change ; and beyond this, of the peseta of Seville, at the arbitrary value of four to the dollar, wiiile their real value is 
of live ; so that in the purchases which occur at every instant, to the amount of the lowest coin in circulation, the 
purchaser, if he has not that coin about him, gives a peseta, and receives liis jiurthase, together with change to the 
same identical amount, almost, as that of the peseta. Disadvantages of the same nature attend every exchange of a 
gold piece for pesetas ; and others of a more serious character are silently hut surely working their appropriate effects. 

" Jiut, notwithstanding these imperfections, it has sutRced to exercise the influences above described ; and with re- 
gard to it merely as a circulating medium, for the hourly jiurposes of Society, I have never, in a single instance, expe- 
rienced or witnessed the slightest detention in making change ; nor h;ive I ever heard any inconvenience of any kind 
mentioned in connection with it, by resident, or by traveller from any part of the globe. On the other hand, 1 do not 
recollect to have met with one who has visited our country, who, however agreeable all his other recollections might 
be, did not speak with the deepest disgust of our ' sliockina-' cu7tciic>j." 

When General Jackson came into power, the bills of the United States Bank passed in every 
part of the United Slates, and even in Europe and Asia, at par — and exchanges between the 
North and South seldom varied to exceed one half per cent. — Gen. Jackson said (or was cajoled 
to sign) that the poor man was robbed of his earnings by this oppressive rate of exchange, and 
forthwith he and his friends adopted measitres lor the purpose, as they said, of remedying the 
evil. Tlie effect of their " Erpaiments," " Expcditiits,'' and " Schemes" on the prosperity and 
the currency of the country has been, as is known to all business men, to derange and to utterly 
destroy both, and now Mr. Van Buien,Mr. Benton, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Calhoun — a precious 
assemblage — propose to the people of the United States as a panacea for all their sufferings, that 
thej' should adopt the specie currency of the " charmed'" Island of Cuba, in wliich it seems, by 
Consul Trist's own showing, a dollar cannot be changed without a loss of 20 cents, or one fifth 
part of its value. There really must be some initch icork, or •' charm." about the Ishind of Cuba, 
as, notwithstanding all this, it seems Consul Trist never yet met with a person who had visited 
the United States who was not disgusted with its " shorking" currency. 

It is said by some that the history of the world, so Jiir as its study is essential to the statesman, 
is comprised in the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. They who have closely watched the prog- 
ress of events in the United States for the last 10 or 12 years, may add anotlier leaf to the histo- 
ry of man as developed in the annals of Rome. — The progressive steps of vice and debasement 
in our country, have been far more rapid than ever was witnessed among the people of that em- 
pire. In the palmy days of Rome, the simple exclamation, " I am a Roman Citizen," was suffi- 
cient to secure respect and protection in the inost barbarous nations of the earth. — So it was for 
centuries, until the people by degrees surrendered their liberties into the hands of Tyrants. Ten 
years since, he who could call himself an .American Citizm was respected merely from that cir- 
cumstance alone, throughout the world. The credit of our merchants was as unsullied abroad as 
the fiiine of our Washington. Now, alas, how changed ! Instead of being the admired " putlrrn " 
for the world, t!ie traitors whom we have selected for our servants, have assumed the attitude of 
our rulers — and point to the people of a province of the most degraded Christian nation on earth, 
and bid us to imitate them. Imitate them in what! In their mode of warfare which originated 
in tliat island to hunt and exterminate, with bloodhounds, the remnant of the poor Indians, who 
had fled to the mountains to shield themselves from the tortures and cruelties of the demons in 
human shape, whom they had welcomed to their once happy shores? No! for in this Martin Van 
Buieu has already imitated them, by importing from that island a whole regiment of bloodhounds 
to tear and devour the women and children of a noble tribe, whom the base intrigues of himself 
an<l co-workers have driven from their homes. — This he has already done, and after having 
failed in his attempt to fasten the stigma of the vile measure upon irresponsible agents in Florida. — 
a measure from which the soul of every human being endowed with correct feelings, rcvolls with 
instinctive horror and loathing, — his organs and minions are now endeavoring to convince us that 
the introduction of these bloodhounds is not only a harmless, but even a merciful act. And vi-e 
are humbuo-ged with stories of dog " leashes " and " nuizzles," to be used by the hvviane. dog 
whippers from Cuba, and who are instructed to take especial cure not to suffer the hounds to in- 
jure the Indians, or their infants and children. Verily the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 
Imitate them in what ! In the mode of improving their lands by compelling the miserable ne- 
groes in their employ to labor 20 hours out of 24, and working 40 out of a hundred to death 
yearly .' No ! for that is unnecessary — we have already become accessories to this crime. Un- 
der the supine neglect or wilful encourairement of our oovernment at iiome, and its officers 
aiiroad, there is not a nook on the coast of injured Africa, but gives shelter to an American 
slaver, employed mostly to furnish new victims to fill the places of those wiio have just perished 
under the whij) of the task master of Cuba; and with shame be it spoken, the sons of New Eng- 
land are among them. — But we are called upon to imitate their carreneij — a currency which is 
the price of blood, and is procured and stistained at the annutil expense of the lives of thousands 
of the wretched beings, wiiose only release from suffering is to be found in death. — And how 



BY A LABORING MAN. 77 

have we been brought to a state that Martin Van Buren and his supporters dare to insult us by 
Buch proposals? — It has been by minute rather than by sloio degrees — the steps that liave led 
to our present degraded state have been almost imperceptible in their descent, but they have 
been rapidly taken. Look back to the time when General Jackson was first proposed as a can- 
didate lor the Presidency. — The bare suggestion called forth the ridicule of his own friends from 
Georgia to Maine. His first serious nomination was publicly made in a paper in tjie interior 
of Pennsylvania, edited by a man of the name of McFarland, and who has since died drunk in 
the streets of Pittsburg. The people of the United States were at that time prosperous and hap- 
py, and like a strong man who glories in his health, which he thinks nothing can destroy, they 
made a frolic of the sacred trusts reposed in them, and elected this man to the Presidency, as it 
were in sport. If in the Jirst annual message of Andrew Jackson, tlie v:hole doctrines had been 
advanced that have been since gradually avowed — if he had dared to have declared to the people 
that it was the intention of the administration to destroy not only their national institution, but 
also to render the State Banks subservient to an institution in the hands of the Executive — if he 
liad denounced our merchants, and the managers of our domestic institutions, as a band of 
" swindlers " — if he had said to us that we v/ere burdened with a ''■false sijstejn '' and " cursed " 
with the " worst currency '' on eartli — and had pointed to the despotic nations of Europe, and 
told us that their institutions were better for freemen than were those we had lived under in the 
days of Washington — what should we then have said.' — Why, there would have been such a 
storm of indignation poured forth from Rlaine to Georgia, and from the Atlantic to the deepest 
recesses of the Rocky Mountains, as would have shaken the very foundation of the Capitol at 
Washington. And yet all this has not only been done, hut far more, — and we have sunk so low 
in the estimation of our rulers, that they have repeatedly declared to us from their high places, 
that not only are the despotic nations of Europe supcrinr to us, but that this miserable ])rovince, 
of a miserable kingdom, (the Island of Cuba,) is a " patters " worthy of our '• study " and of 
our '• imitation." ' 

Mr. Buchanan has told us that we must " reduce our nominal to the real standard of prices 
throughout the loorld." Mr. Davis has informed us what these " standard" prices are, so far as 
Europe is concerned, and Mr. Walker graciously informs us what these " standard " prices Mr. 
Buchanan speaks of are, so far as the ''pattern " Island of Cuba is concerned — where the ne- 
groes are compelled to perform at least three times the work they do in the service of more mer- 
ciful masters. Hear what Mr. Walker said (Jan. l(i, 184(J) in the debate on the bill for a treas- 
ury independent of the people, as reported in the Globe — 

" TiCt, us but contrast tlie condition of tlio Island of Cul):i, upon our very borders, with that of our own country. In 
Cuba, the currency is entirely metallic ; her population only about nine hundred tliousand, one third of whom, as has 
been truly stated, are slaves; and yet, with a prosperity almost unexampled, with agriculture and commerce flourish- 
ing, and an annual import and export of forty-three millions of dollars, whilst distress and embarrassment here are al- 
most universal, even in those States possessing the richest soil and staples, with natural advantages much greater than 
Cuba, and with the great additional advantage of a free government. Why, then, this difterence.' It is the contrast 
between the result of the melalUc and paper currency. In Cuba, they have no periodical revulsions, and, from tlieir 
currency, the expense of raising their products is so small, that the profit is great even at a limited price, and they can 
export, at a profit, throughout the world. From 1816 until I83S, whilst the duty on brown sugar was at tliree cents a 
pound, have not the Cuba planters introduced their products into New Orleans, into the heart of our sugar growing re- 
gion of Louisiana, and imdersold us in our own market ; and that, too, after paying the duty on foreign sugar of three 
cents a pound, and at least one cent a pound additional for freight, insurance, and other charges ; and this, too, when, 
during part of tliis period, brown sugar commanded at New Orleans but six cents a pound .' If then, fro:u this price re- 
ceived, of six cents per pound, we deduct the four cents before specified, for the duty and other charges offrcight, &c., 
but two cents per pound will have been actually received bore by the Cuba planter for his sugar ; and if we allow one 
cent per pound for profit, tho expense of raising the article, including the annual interest on the original investment, 
would have been but one cent per pound. — This may or may not be tlie exact expense, but still all will perceive ths 
wonderful difference in the cost of production in tho tv.o countries." 

The government papers of the present day are full of sophistry and falsehoods, to prove to the 
people of this country, that the friends of the administration have never advocated a reduction of 
the wages of labor — and that the introduction of a specie currency will not tend to produce that 
effect in an material degree. By tho foregoing extracts from Mr. Walker's speech, it will be 
seen that li tates sugar can be raised 'n the Island of Cuba for 07ic cent a pound, or about one 
si.xth part > i' what it is produced for in Louisiana — and he expressly and emphatically declares, 
that it is " FROM THEIR CURRENCY the expense of raising their products is so SMALL." — 
This currency, he states, is " entikelv mkt.\llic " — yet such is the opinion these men have of 
the intelligence of the people of the United States, that while they advocate the introduction of a 
specie currency, they inform them it is not their intention to lessen the price of their labor. 

Hear again what Mr. Calhoun, another /;t7/ar of Martin Van Buren's administration, said to 
the Senate, (as reported in the Globe,) on the same day that Mr. Walker made his remarks as 
quoted above — 

" If we must use credit, I would infmitely rather use onr own than that of Banks. But as to the currency, I concur 
almost in every sentiment which has been uttered by the Senator from Mississippi, [Mr. Walker.] — He could not do 
better than to contrast our own state with that of Culia. Cuba is now in a flourishing condition, while the St;ite of 
Mississippi is in a state of extreme distress. That Senator cannot push the specie curioncy farther than I, if the 
country were out of debt. I wish simply, if there must be a temporary credit, that the Qocernment should use its own 
credit." 

It seems these two friends and supporters of Martin Van Buren are pretty much agreed with 
regard to the effects of the introduction of a specie currency. The fact is, that the'^Executive 
had become so imboldoned by the success it had met with in its experiments on the credulity of the 
people, that they had no doubt of being able to convince them, by means of pensioned, itinerant 
lecturers, in aid of their own speeches and arguments, circulated throughout the United States 



''S FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN : 

by means of the government organ the Globe, and its satellites, that low wages were as benefi- 
cial to the laboring man as high, provided all other things were in proportion. They trusted 
that the people had not intelligence enough to perceive the paradox tliat was involved in their 
proposition. In tliis, however, they were mistaken — and some five or six weeks after Mr. Bu- 
chanan's, Mr. Walker's, Mr. Calhoun's, and other speeches, advocating the lowering the price 
of the products of industry, and consequently of labor itself, had been delivered, the friends of the 
administration discovered that they had gone too far — and in imitation of what they had repeat- 
edly done on former occasions, attempted again to retrace their steps. 

Just about the same time that Mr. Buchanan accused Mr. Davis of falsitying his speech, and 
denied ever having spoken the sentiments which had been attributed to him, it was observed that 
Mr. Rantoul, a travelling lecturer in the service of the government, made the same deniuts with 
regard to the same doctrines of low prices he was accused of having previovsly promulgated. 
This circumstance goes to prove the strict organization of the party, as the writer has before 
stated, and it is most probable that, immediately upon the Executive finding that the doctrine of 
low tcages could not be made palatable to the people, Mr. Rantoul as well as Mr. Buchanan, and 
other friends of the Executive, were instructed to disavow and repudiate their /or7?(c/- sentiments 
on the obnoxious subject. This was the precise course that was pursued by the Executive and 
its minions with regard to the Banks. If in their persecution of those institutions, they became 
aware of having pushed tlieir measures farther than the people were prepared to support, they 
would fall back to safer ground — and disavow, for instance, ever having said they " had the 
banks on the hip, and that it was best to keep them there " — and then b~y means of insidious 
doctrines, infused into the minds of the people through their official organs, and Executive 
minions and agents, gradually prepare the people to support them in further attempts to destroy 
those institutions. This, too, was the precise mode that was adopted with regard to the prosecu- 
tion of the Sub-Treasury scheme, and this is the mode that will be pursued, (provided Martin 
Van Buren is re-elected.) until every valuable institution in the country is made either to bow 
itself to the dictation of tlie Executive, or to perish under its persecution. These banks were 
first flattered and cajoled until their confidence was obtained — then betrayed, and then in the 
language {the practical langiiage) of Mr. Buchanan, became the '• castaways " (as he calls them) 
of the administration ; who are now laboring night and day to destroy what little remaining 
credit these poor " castaways " have left, tliat they may make them willing instruments in their 
vile hands, or consign them to a violent death — yes, Mr. Buchanan, a " VIOLENT DEATH." 
What means such slander as this, Mr. Buchanan, when applied to these ipoor " castaimijs" — 
used by yourself in your speech on the Sub-Treasury Bill, in the Senate of the United States, 
Jan. 22, 1(S40 .'' — "■ JJfter the revulsion in 1837 — after the banks had hlmcn up, and left the gotern- 
mcnt WITHOUT a dollar, the President found it necessary to convene Congress." — Can you read 
this paragraph without recoiling even from yourself at its falsehood, fllr. Buchanan; when you 
must have known at the time you asserted it, that at the meeting of Martin Van Buren's especial 
session of Congress, in 1837, these poor " aistawaijs " had not only repaid every dollar due to the 
Federal Government, which had been put in their possession for the «.T,/;7-e5S purpose of" debauch- 
ing " them, but that their faithless lovers had obtained from them, in addition, more than one mil- 
lion dollars belonging to the States, as shown by Mr. Woodbury s own statement to Congress at 
that time — in which he saj^s there are remaining in deposit, in all tlie deposit banks, but 
}^8,1GG,492 — while he expressly states there were^0,3G7 ,214 dollars due the States, and which 
sum had been deposited in the banks.' The man whose faithless lips can thus slander the poor 
deserted ^^ castaways," is a fit supporter and instrument of the present Executive. 

N\RRAGANSETT. 



[From the Newport, R. I., Herak! of tliG Times, .April -33, 1840.J 

No. 11., 

Further Effects of Mr. Van Buren's "False Si/.>itcm," as illustrated by his Connection 
loith the " Albany Regency,'" and his subsequent Attack on the Banks, S^^c. ^'c. 

Most renders are perhaps familiar with what is called a "power behind the throne," which is 
very apt to exist in corrupt goveriimeiits, and is generally wielded by irresponsible persons, 
v.'hose machinations are mostly liid from tlie people at larare. Of such a nature was that of the 
far-famed ^^ Mbanij Regency," the members of which for many years, as is well known, success- 
fully controlled the political destinies of the State of New York. This secret combination, which 
very mucii resembled the Jacobin Club, so terrible in the French revolution, was organized by 
Martin Van Buren about twenty years since, and consisted of the following members: — 

MARTIN VAN BUREN, (who was its chief originator.) 

Sii.AS Wrkhit, (present Senator in Congress.) 

John a. Dix, (late Secretary of State.) 

AzAKiAH C". Fi.AGG, (late Comptroller.) 

Thomas W. Olcott, (President of Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank at Albany, called the Re- 
gency Bank.) 

EowiN CuoswELi., (Editor of the Argus.) 



BY A LABORING MAN. 79 

Wm. L. Makcv, (late Governor.) 

Green C. Branson, (Judije of Court.) 

Reuben H. Walworth, (Chancellor.) 

Hrnrij Seymour, deceased, (lale Canal Commissioner.) 

Julin P. Cushman, (Judge at Tro}'.) 

Benjamin F. Butler, (lato Attorney General.) 

Benjamin Knotcer, (fatlier-in-la\v to Gov. Marcy.) 

Jiime^ Porter, f Register in Chancery.) 

Samuel Benrdsleij, {oi ^- Perish Credit, Perish Commerce" memory.) 

The above fifteen constituted the '^Regency'" — to wiiich was uttaclied a number of subordi- 
nates — who were not admitted to share fully in the secrets <>i' i\n- Club — among wliom were 
Gen. Iluhhell of Itiiaca, Levi Beardsley of Utica, Lott Clark of Lockport, ami others. In the 
first caucus held by the members of the Regenc}', Mr. Van Buren, in a speech addressed to them, 
stated Ills plan to be, tliat a majority of the regency should decide upon the course of policy to 
be pursued, and that the minority should acquiesce in the decision, and support the measures 
proposed by the majoritj', whether they were right or whether they were icrong. Upon the 
avowal of tliis bold and dangerous doctrine, a (jentlouian juescnt rose, and stated to the caucus, 
tliat he could not subscribe to any such plan as was proposed by JNIr. Van Buren, and tliereupon 
left the room. Tiie writer has been told, and he believes it to be true, that Messrs. Wright, Dix, 
Flagg, Olcoit, Croswell, and Marcy, were called together on every political measure of impor- 
tanoe, and were the most ultra of the concern, with perhaps the e.xception of Mr. Van Buren, 
their hcvid, who, agreeably to his " non committal " principle, worked even more secretly, if possi- 
ble, than the others. Tlie writer has also been informed, tiiat the meetinTs of the club were 
generally held in a little back parlor of the Mechanics" and Farmers' Bank at Albany, Mr. Olcott 
being President of the same, and its directors being composed exclusively of the members of the 
Regency club. In a short time the club became as powerful in the State of New York, as was 
the revolutionary Jacobin club in France — and from all accounts, its members were quite as 
unscrupulous in adopting measures to advance themselrcs to political power. Among the vari- 
ous secret means used by the Regency, none perhaps proved so efiective in controlling elections 
as that which was afforded by tlie Banking system. By means of an e.xact system of Espionage, 
heretol"ore described by the writer, as having been originated by Aaron Burr, who probably in- 
structed Martin Van Buren in its principles, the Albany Regency informed themselves of the 
business and political character of every man of importance in the State. If it was discovered 
that a Banking institution, in Oswego for instance, was in the hands of men who were not sub- 
servient to the Regency party, a war of persecution was commenced against them. As the 
IMechanics' and Farmers' Bank at Albany acted as a collecting Bank, Mr. Olcott, its President, 
acting in conjunction witli the ultra members of the Regency in its direction, could readily 
collect a large amount of bills issued by the Selected Victim, which were forthwith sent to 
Oswego and the specie demanded for tliem. This course would be again and again repeated, 
uniil the directors of the persecuted bank, finding they could not do a banking business to any 
profit, imder sucli sudden and unreasonable calls for specie, would perhaps send a deputation 
to Albany to learn the reason of such conduct on the part of the managers of the Regency Bank. 
They would accordingly wait on Mr. Olcott, its President, an4 state their grievances. He, in 
turn, would manifest great conmiiseration for tlie bank at Oswego, and express his " regrets " 
for the course the officers of the Farmers' Bank felt themselves compelled to pursue — assign- 
ing as a reason, that the Directors of the Farmers' Bank had not sufficient confidence in tiie 
present managers of the Oswego Bank to warrant them in holding their bills, and thus jeopard- 
izing the property intrusted to their keeping, by the stockholders of the institution over whi( h 
they presided. In the course of a desultory conversation, it would perhaps escape from Mr. Ol- 
f'oh, as if by accident, that if Squire Pettifogger, or Squire Bribery, (or some other friend of the 
egency, living perhaps in Oswego,) was a director of the Oswego Bank, more confidence would 
,:.obably be placed in its m .nagement by the directors of the Farmers' Bank. Nothing would 
be said about politics, and should the deputation see the cloven foot, it would be shown in such 
a way, that proof could not be obtained of its existence. On their return to Oswego, the favorite 
Squires of the Regency would i)robably be appointed as directors in the bank, and then all diffi- 
culties would be at an end — the bank at Oswego would lend its aid to the Regency in control- 
ling the elections, and, in turn, would be patronized by the President and Directors of the Farm- 
ers' Bank in Albany. It was by means of the secret influence exercised by this Regency, that 
Martin Van Buren acquired the name of " ;//Y/:,r/V/</H; " that elevated him to the cliief magis- 
tracy of the State of New York, and subsequently to the Presidency of the United States. The 
ability it gave him to control 42 t'l(>etoral votes placed a balance of power in his hands, which he 
could use as he saw fit, and which the friends of General Jackson found it necessary to propi- 
tiate, as was fully proved by Martin Van Buren's being selected as Secretary of State — and on 
his resigning that place, being sent to England as Mmister, from whence, however, he was re- 
called, from the circumstance of tlie Senate's refusal to ratify his nomination, on account of the 
disgrace he had previously brought on tlie American name by his attempt to negotiate with the 
government of Great Britiin, purely on pnrty grounds. Fie was, as is well known, afterwards 
selected by the friends of General Jackson as candidate for Vice President, and elected by them 
to fill that station, and subsequently to the Presidency by the same influence. 

There is every reason to believe that Martin Van Huren aspired to be tlie successor of Gen(>ral 
Jackson, at the time he was selected for Secretary of State, and that he then determined upon 



so FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

using the same means to insure his election and to control future events, as he had so success- 
fully used to elevate himself to the chief magistracy of an individual State. Analogy would teach 
him that if one Slate could be governed tiirough the Banking system, the whole could — and 
that if the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank at Albany, acting simply as a collecting Bank, could 
make him Governor of the State of New York, the control of the United States Bank, with its 
yS Branches, reaching over every section of the Union, and controlling all the State institutions, 
could readily be made the means of elevating him to the Presidency, and of securing t!;e succes- 
sion to a member of the Regency, as it had done in the case of Governor of New York, as shown 
by the election of Wm. L. Marcy on the resignation of.Gov. Van Buren. The work v/as soon 
commenced, and the unprincipled men who had been called to the aid of Genera! Jackson's 
administration, afforded ample and ready instruments for the advancement of any intrigues or 
conspiracies, however base. Acting by the samis rule that had been adopted by the Regency, a 
distant victim was selected on which first to commence operations. •^— The same end was tobe 
gained in the one case as in the other, viz., to place the selected institution under the control 
of his creatures ; but the means to be applied, owing to circumstances, were necessaril}^ different 
in their character. ''The Branch of the United States Bank at Portsmouth, was selected for the 
Jirst victim. At this tim.e, the Cabinet of General Jackson consisted of Mr. Van Buren, Secre- 
tary of State ; Mr. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury ; Mr. Branch, of N. C. 
Secretary of the Navy ; Mr. Eaton, Secretary of War ; Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, Attorney Gen- 
eral ; and of Mr. Barry, Po.st Master General. — the last-named officer being adm.itted to a seat 
in the Cabinet for the first time under Gen. Jackson. ISAAC HILL, at this time, was second 
Comptroller in the Treasury department. From the official records it appears that on the 11th 
of July, lb'29, about three months after Mr. Van Buren had been called to h.is station under Gen. 
Jackson, a letter marked ■" Confidential " was addressed to Nicholas Biddle, President of the 
U. S. Bank, and signed hy Mr. Ingham, Secretary of the Treasury, but which, from its Jesuitical 

character, must have been written by Amos Kendall, Martin Van Buren, Isaac Hill, or tlie d 1. 

The writer of the letter informs Mr. Biddle that he " herewith transmits a copy of a confidential 
letter, received from the Hon. Levi JVoccUnirtj, Senator cf the United States from New Hamp- 
shire, containing a complaint against the President of the Branch Bank at Portsmouth. Com- 
plaints of a similar nature have also been suggested from other places, particularly Kentucky 
and Louisiana. TItcsc, when presented in a more distinct form, will also be presented to you ! " 

It will here be perceived that the complaint was made by Mr. Woodbury, a creature at that 
time of Isaac Hill's, and that the Secretary of the Treasury was prepared with others of the same 
nature, to be presented in turn, should the conspirators meet with success in their first attempt 
to get the control of the Portsmoutli branch — to be followed, no doubt, in rotation until the whole 
of the branches were placed in the hands of the creatures of Mr. Van Buren — in imitation of 
the Country Banks in New York, which were in the same manner placed under his and the 
Regency's control through the agency cf the Farmers' Bank at Albany, as before described. Mr. 
Ingham's letter contains many cunning expressions, and among otlier things, he informs Mr. 
Biddle that he considers " the only safe guide to test the justice of such complaints is the public 
opinion of the vicinity from which they emanate." 

The enclosed complaint from Mr. Woodbury is addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, 
and is also marked "confidential," and bears date at Portsmouth, June 27, 1S29, — in which he 
states that " The new President, (of the Portsmouth Bank,) Jererniah Mason, is a particular friend 
of Mr. Webster, and his political character is doubtless well known to you." Mr. Woodbury 
further says, " Of course, my sitvation is such as to deprive me of much personal knov.'ledge of 
Mr. Mason's administration of the Bank concerns ; but never, on any occasion, have I laiown 
coimplaints so wide and hitter, as in the case now under consideration." 

"Under date of July ]8lh, Mr. Biddlo answers Mr. Ingham's letter, and conclusively s! '. ■ that 
many of the charg.-s made in Mr. Woodbury's complaint are untrue, but slates that he ii ;'J sub- 
mitted it to the Board of Directors, " who will not fail to examine the allegations of Mr. Wood- 
burjf, and, should they appear to be well founded, to apply an appropriate corrective." It is 
evident from the tone of Mr. Biddle's communications of this date, with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, that the Directors of the United States Bank strongly suspected the approach of a 
wolf in sheep's clothing — and the principles of action heretofore pursued by the Bank are stated 
in the most able and convincing manner. Mr. Biddle informs Mr. Ingham, " That the success 
of the Bank, whntever may be its degree, is entirely due to two fundamental principles in its 
administration : First, tiiat in the choice of its agents and the distribution of its loans, it should 
be wholly hidijf'rrent to political parties; and second, that in all its operations it should be totally 
independent of the officers of the government." He again says — 

"" Tlie Bank has a!w:iy:) kcjit itself aloof from all political cnnmctiun mtk the govcmmntt. ; and wliilo, in whatever 
concorns its approp/iutfi diitios, it h:i.s yielded tlie most ready and faitliful sijpi)ort to all the officers of j;ovurnniei)t, it 
has, at the same time, mainlnined the most entire independence of them. Their respective powers and duties are 
.•issignod to them by the same common authority — the laws of the country. Beyond these limits, it has never sought 
nor desired, nor would it v.vi-r have pcrwiltcd, (iiiij connection with the /rovcrmneHt, nr ami interftmice on its port — 
content with heinj the FRIEND of every administration, but the PAR'IMSAN OF NONii." * * * * "The 
footing, therefore, on which the intercourse between the Bank and the government, has always been distinctly plaeed, 
the only safe basis for the country, the government, or the Bank, is simply this: — 'I'he Bank h,w given the most cor- 
dial and decided cooperation in all the financial operations of the f^overnnicnt ; it has taken especi;il care, as a point 
cr,ually of duty and of delicacy, that none of its agents should abuse their trust, by injustice towards the existing 
administration or its friends, being always ready to .".pply the most decisive relief against such a perversion of its 
power. On the other hand, the government has uniformly and scrupulously forborne from all interference with the 
concerns of the Bank." ♦• * * *," In fact, their very ability to serve any administration, wuuld he ]osi hy suht-er- 
vicncy to it ; and the true relation of the Bank to the government is that of an iiiqiartial and independent friend, not a 

IMKTIS.VN." 



BY A LABORING MAN. 81 

Tlie frank and manly exposi- of tlie principles and conduct of the managers of the Bank, 
seems to have struck the ct.nspirators aback; and, in Mr. Ingham's reply to Mr. Biddle, under 
date of July '2-5, he confesses that he "was not prepared for so conjitlatt an assertion of the 
universal pitritij of the Bank and all its branches, in practice as well as principle, as is to be 
found in your (Mr. Biddle's) letter." 

It seems it was decided, by the Directors of the Bank, that Mr. Biddle, with one of the 
Cashiers, should proceed to P;>rtsmouth and investigate in person the ehiirges preferred against 
Mr. Mason, and that he was absent at the receipt of Mr. Ingham's letter of the 2M inst. On 
Mr. Biddlc's return to Thiladelphia, he again addressed a letter to Mr. Ingliam, in answer to his 
of the 23d. In speaking of Mr. Ingham's first letter, covering tiie complaint of Mr. Woodbury, 
Mr. Biddle says — 

"Your letter was iiiinieiliatcly followed by tlie comnuinicntioii of ono subscribed 'ISAAC HILL, Srcond Cnmp- 
trolkr (if the Trca.<unj,' traiisiiiitiiiig two meiuonuh. One of lliom was said to be fioiii ' tnost of tlie business mm and 
mrrchaiits of Portsinuntli, wil/tiitU duUinction of parly ;^ llie otlier ho described as couiini; from 'about sixty of the 
MOST RESPECTAHLE MBMHEKSOFTHE New Ua.«i'shire LEGISLATURE,' reque.sliii^' Mr. hliison's removal, and, 
moreover, 7iomiT(«.'i/i^r (1 new Bourd of Directors. To these the Second Coniptrolbr adds bis oini opinion, that ' »o 
measure short iif Mr". Mason's remooal will tend to rtcoHcilc. the iicuplr. ,f M'rw Ilumpsi'iirn In thr. /•aiik,' and tbiit this 
mi'asuro is afkcd for by individuals whom he characterizes a.s ' tAe FillKNDS (>/' GE.\ER.\N J.^CKSON m J^eio 
Jliimp diirr.' In answer to your letter, you were apprized that the complaints of Air. Woodbury would be duly 
u-xarnined, and tliat the Bank'liad unilbrmly, and it was 1)elievnd succussfiilly, endeavored to prevent the abuse of its 
power to p-irty purposes. 'STour reply, of the 23d of July, tre.its this e.xeinption from political bias as a moral im- 
probability ; and, in an allusion to a Ro:jr!,'estion that the IJuik was disinclined to the int'-iforence of the government 
in these matters, you declare th it ' it ij not deemed transcending theju,st obligations nftiie dpnrtment tu which is assigned 
the direction of the rdations betwcvt the iroiternnient and tlic Bank, to swsgr.st its views as to their proper management.' 
You speak of the ' action of the GOVERN.MENT on the rank, and t'lal vf the rank on those witliiii- the sphere of its 
INFLUENCE;' and. finally, you remove the impression thiit those were ««/;/ your private sentiments, of which the 
friendly purpose might justitV "the cojiimunication, bv stating that your ^r.^t letter contained '■such an avowal of the 
views of Vu: AD.MlMS'lRATlON, a^ could not fairly be IJIlSUiNDEKSTOOD.' " 

Mr. Biddle also declares, in this letter, that the charges preferred against Mr. Mason were 
found to be entirely groundless, and that he was therefore re-elected to the presidency of the 
branch at Portsmouth. 

On the receipt of this letter from Mr. Biddle, the conspirators, through Mr. Ingham, seem to 
have adopted another course ; and, in his answer, under date of October 5th, 182i>, they attempt 
to balUj the Bank into acquiescence, and threaten them with the power of the ADMiNiSTR.\Tioy, 
which, he says, may be exerted in the appolnlinent of five directors, and " in the wirnnK.vwi.\G of 
the PUBLIC DEPOSITS," and in many other modes. The managers of the Bank, however, stood 
their ground firmly, alike against the cr/jo/cj ?/ and the threats of the'iT perfidious enemies; and 
Mr. Van Buruii was compelled to abandon his plan of rendering it immediately tributary to his 
schemes of ambition. 

In examining tlie correspondence and documents that were brought to light on this subject, 
by subsequent legislation, it is curious to observe the coincidences ; for instance, Mr. Woodbury's 
complaint against Mr. M;tsfin, addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, is dated June aTth, 
at PoKTSMou rii ; again, Isaac Hill, whose creature Mr. Woodbury w;i.s, in a letter from Wash- 
ington, dated I7th of July, and directed to J. N. Barker and John Pemberton, Esquires, at 
Philadelphia, (who were probably government directors of the Bank,) says — "I now, agreeably 
to mij sugirc^lioii when I saw you in Philadelphia, send you two petitions to the President and 
Directoi-s of the Bank of the United States," «&c. Isaac Hill further says that he has recently 
spent several weeks in New Hampshire; and one of these petitions is dated June 27, 1829, at 
Portsmouth, where he no doubt then was, and bears the same date as Mr. Woodbury's letter 
of complaint to Mr. Ingliam. This petition simjily calls lor the removal of Mr. Mason, the 
President, and is signed'witli fifty-eight names. The other petition is dated June 29th, two days 
after the other, and was probably got up at tlie seat of government in New Hampshire, as it is 
signed by fifty-seven persons, who, Mr. Hill says, are the most respectable members of the 
New Hampsliire Legislature. This petition calls not only for a removal of Mr. Mason from the 
Bank, but also for that of the whole of the directors, and requests tliat Messrs. Isaac Waldron, 
Titus Salter, Thomas W. Penhallow, John Ball, John S. Jenniess, James Cushiisan, Richard H. 
Ayer, Joseph W. Haven, John Harvey, and William Pickering, may be appointed in their 
places. Isaac Hill also states, in his letter to Philadelphia, that he forwards a letter of com- 
j)laint from Joiiu S. Jenniess, Esq., a respectable merchant of Portsmouth, as he says, and who, 
it seems, was nominated by the friends of the conspirators to fill the place of a director in the 
Bauk as soon as those already in could be removed. In all this busine.'^s, it is probable that Mr. 
Inghain did not i'ully comprehend the real intentions of Mr. Van Btiren or his Second Comp- 
troller, Isaac Hill. He appears to have been a plodding, heavy-moulded man, very similar in 
character to Mr. Woodbury, though not so stupid. He was, moreover, said to be friendly to the 
succession of Mr. Calhoun to the Presidency. It seems that Isaac Hill had managed to get an 
order fioni Mr. Eaton, the Secretary of War, for the removal of tiie pension agency from Ports- 
mouth to Concord ; and the pension fund, hitherto constituting part of the i)ublic deposits in 
the United States Bank, was ordered to be withdrawn, and deposited in a bank at Concord, of 
wh.ich Isaac HilL had been president a short time before, and until he accejited an appointment 
at Washington. The correspondence, with regard to this arrangement, was mostl)' carried on 
by a Mr. James li. Edwards, who took the responsibility to order the jniblie money about, seem- 
ingly as he chose, under his simple signature, and who was probably a clerk or pension agent 
under Mr. Eaton in the War Department. Mr. Henshaw, of Commonwealth Bank memory, 
had also adopted the same course, and made deposits in a State Bank in which he was in- 
8 



82 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

terostcd, whicli had been ordered by law to be deposited in the United States Rank. From 
New York, also, a large sum had been ordered, by the same Mr. Edwards, to be phiced in Mr. 
Van Buren's rfirency Bank in Albany. In justice, however, to Mr. Cass, the subsequent Secre- 
tary ol" War, it IS hut right to say, that he restored these deposits to the United Slates Bank, 
and declared tliat they had been illegally removed from its keeping. 

It is perhaps altogether impossible to trace the secret movements of Mr. Van Buren for some 
time alter the refusal oi" the United States Bank to become his tool. He, however, probably 
still retained a hope that it might eventually be corrupted, in case a renewal of its cliarter 
should be found to depend on the will of President Jackson ; whom, it was well known, he at that 
time almost exclusively controlled ; but, in case it would not eventually yield, its destruction 
was decided upon. 

The organization of President Jackson's Cabinet did not at all suit Mr. Van Buren. The 
men who composed it were most of them cither inimical to his designs in regard to the suc- 
cession, or lukewarm in their advocacy of his claims. The friends of Mr. Calhoun, then Vice 
President, were disposed to jiush his nomination as candidate for the next term after President 
Jacksiin's four 3-ears had expired ; and Mr. Ingham was perhaps disposed to second them. 
Major Eaton knew but little about politics or any thing else, and cared for no one but Jackson ; 
while Berrien and Branch were much too high-toned in their characters to suit Mr. Van Buren's 
purposes. In short, he decided upon an " explosion'' of the Cabinet. The first step to be taken 
was to render Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Van Buren's rival, obnoxious to the President. For this pur- 
pose, a Mr. Hamilton, of New York, a conspicuous character in Tammany Hall, was employed 
to fi-rret out proof of Mr. Caliioun's conduct while Secretary of War under Mr. Monroe's 
administration ; and, by dint of travel and inquiry, enough facts were collected to give coloring 
to the chitrge that Mr. Caliioun had, while a member of Mr. Monroe's Cabinet, urged the 
propriety of arresting and trying Gen. Jackson for his conduct in the Seminole War. Whether 
this was true or not, is not essential, as it was sufficient to entirely alienate the old General from 
Mr. Calhoun, to whom he felt under much obligation in consequence of Mr. Calhoun's having 
withdrawn himself ns candidate for the Presidency in \&IA, and had given his aid to the election 
of Gen Jackson. This preliminary step being taken, on the 11th day of April, 1831, Mr. Van 
Buren tendered his resignation as Secretary of State, and, in his letter of resignation, made it to 
be distinctly understood, that it was in consequence of its being expected of him to become a 
candidate lijr the presidential chair al'ter the retirement of General Jackson, when his second 
term should expire; and stated that, under those circumstances, he did not wish to embarrass 
the present administration by his continuance in office at Washington. It is well known that a 
prejudice existi^d, in the minds of the people, unfavorable to the accession of a Secretary of 
State to the Fresideiipy, as it had been of sucii common occurrence that it began to assume the 
aspect of a regular succession ; and Mr. Van Buren probably supposed, among other things, it 
might injure his future prospects. About the same time, Major Eaton resigned his situation as 
Secretary of War, giving as his reason that he never wished the station, and that he had always 
intended to resign the first favorable opportunity. On the 18th of April, Gen. Jackson gave 
Mr. Ingham a gentle hint to remind him of his wishes, by connnunicating to him the resigna- 
tion of Mr. Van Buren and of Mr. Eaton, two of his brother '■'■viiits." Mr. Ingham, being 
himself satisfied with his situation, could not fully understand what was wanted; and, accord- 
ingly, he addressed a note to the President, requesting more explicit information. This-the old 
General readily furnislied ; and Mr. Ingham agreed to resign as soon as he should have per- 
fected a ri'port on weiiihts uud ineasttrcs he was then engaged in. Gen. Jackson, finding his 
letter to Mr. Ingham so efficient in explaining his views and wislies, despatched copies of the 
same to Mr. Br;)nch, of the Navy Department, and also to Mr. Berrien, Attorney General, who 
forthwith resigned their places. The "■unit" was now dissolved, with the exception of Mr. 
Barry, the Postmaster General, whose services could not be dispensed vi'ith in that department, 
especially as that otlicer h;id already run his department in debt to the amount of several hun- 
dred thousand dollars, in his endeavors to bring about a '■'■Jackson rtforvi." In this dis- 
posal of the •' unit," Colonel Johnson, our present Vice President, was the principal agent 
employed, and was very useful in |)rf)ducinif the results desired by Mr. Van Buren. For rea- 
sons generally well known, the families of Messrs. Branch, Ingham, and Berrien, refused to 
associate with Mrs. Eaton, who was a favorite with Gen. Jackson, and who was probably inno- 
cent of the charges made against lier character, but which, nevertheless, were the cause of her 
being d(>nied access to the soirees and parties usually' given by the mi'inbers of the Cabinet at 
Washington. Of this circumstance much use was made by Mr. Van Buren. In an exposition 
of Mr. Branch, published in the Roanoke Advocate, and dated Enfield, August 2'2, 1831, in 
speaking of his forced resignation, Mr. Branch saj's — 

" Mr. Vail Huron, also, I have rrason to lirliovp, nrjiMl tti(> ailoption of tlii-t nie.isurc. Tliis crnlleman had dis- 
covored th;it tho Ihri'O iin'iiilKra of llie ("^nhiiiol, aftiru arils cjccIimI, (hsiJtiineil ti) hicomo tools to siiliservo liis airibitious 
anpirhii's, an:l ho deteniihiiMl to loavo ihom as little power to defcMt his mat hiiialions us pos-^ible. It i.s s:iid to be a 
pari of his character to ti h r.itr politically no ono who will not enter, heart and soul, into measures for promoting his 
own aggrandizement, lie had hecoine latterly the nlm<i.st xole, coiifiilant anil ailri>'rr vftlir Prriidnd. How he obtained 
this inlluenci! mijilil be a aubjuct of curious and entertaining inquiry. Hut I sh:ill not pursue it. I may add, however, 
that, amimg tho moans employed, wore the masl lirrutrd and a<siil>ioiis attention to Mrs. Eaton, and unceasing efforta 
to l>rin„' her into nolico, cpeciilly with the faniili<!s of tho foreign ministers." 

Until Gen. Jackson came into power, the four Secretaries and the Attorney General of the 
United States had always been considered the legal advisers of the President, and he had even 
a right to call on them for their written opinion on any subject connected with the administra- 



BY A LABORING MAN. 83 

tion of tlio governrnpiit. It had been customary to call the Cabinet together, and hold open 
consultalioD, in wliicli each member mio;ht express his views. Al'ter Gen. Jackson's election, 
Mr. Vein Jiuren iiiaiiajrod to have this custom pretty much dispensed with, preferring to use a 
secret influence to the manly and open c<<urse hitherto practised. Bui little advice was asked 
of the legal Cabinet of the President; and. upon its reorganization, the custom of consulting 
its members in a body was almost entirely dispensed with, and the President was subjected to 
the secret control of irresponsible, and, for a time, unknown advisers, who had been placed 
around him by Mr. Van Buren, and whom he could, as he thought, depend upon and control. 

Until tlie e,\plosion of General Jackson's first Cabinet, called the " unit," a. paper called the 
Teleoraph, and edited by Duff Green, had been the administration journal and official organ. 
The editor of tliis paper was inclined in favor of the succession of John C. Calhoun to the 
Presidency, and, of course, he was not a favorite with Mr. Van Buren. About this lime, 
Francis P. Blair was brouirlit to Washington, from Frankfort in Kentucky^ and was selected by 
Mr. Van Buren and his friends to edit a paper to be calird the Globe, which, since that time, as 
is well known, has been the executive organ. This Francis P. Blair soon became one of the 
most prominent members of the " Ktr.licii Cabiiu't ;" and a filter or more unscrupulous instru- 
ment, for tli(> purposes intended, could not, perhaps, have been ^- selected from the people" by 
Mr. Van Buren. In a speech delivered in ConoTess by Mr. Br)nd, of (^hio, about two years 
since, Mr. Bond stated that there was a paper "reported cr filed' by one of the committee of 
this house, which showed that, on the :50lh of November, 1S>(), this same Francis P. Blair was 
indebted to the United Stales Bank in the sum of .<S::i<i,744,:k). This debt, Mr. Bond says, he 
conipromistd with the Bank, by relinquishing for it a clerk's fee bill, amounting to ^:^7,4".i, and 
a note on a gentleman by the name of Gratz for $t2Ui), and was released from the payment of 
^•ii),7-14,;!{i, it l)eing a little more than one cent on the dollar. Those wlio are acquainted with 
human naluri' will at once admit, that, if Mr. Blair was a oood but unfortunate man, he would 
liave felt himself under great obligations to the Bank, and would have ever felt n-rateful for the 
kindness siiown him ; while, on the contrary, if he was naturally a vicious and bad man, just in 
proportion as he fi'lt himself under obli<rations to the Bank would be his hatred, and his desire 
of injuring it. " Smili fivurs nuike friends, <rrcat fivvrs niulio eacmits ;'' especially when con- 
ferred on bad men. No one, probably, ever yet accused Mr. Blair of being a good man. He 
probably resembles " Jtf«ra«," one of the three leaders of the Jacobin Club during the French 
revolution, more than any other man living. Marat also edited a journal, called the '■ Friend 
of the People." Some writers, in s])eaking of this paper, during the revolution in France, said 
its columns absolutely '• howled for blood." The columns of the (Jlobe are lately assuming the 
same tone ; and, sljoukl the people succeed in electing (leneral Harrison to the presidency by 
only a small majority, if the writer is not much mistaken, this same Mr. Blair's paper, the 
Globe, will " howl as loudly for blood " as ever did " Marat's " Jacobin journal at Paris. 

General Jackson's second leffid Cabinet was composed of Mr. Livingston, Secretary of State; 
Mr. M'Lnne, former .Minister to England, Secretary of the Treasury; Mr. Lewis Cass, Secre- 
tary of War; Mr. Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy; and Mr. Taney, Attorney General. 
The writer has always considered Gen. Jackson's "■Kitchen Cabinet" to have consisted of Amos 
Kendall, who, at the time of the explosion of the "unit," was an "humhle" auditor in the 
Treasury Department; Mr. Benton. Senator from Missouri; Francis P. Blair, editor of the 
(Jlobe; Isaac Hill, at one time Second Comptroller in the Treasury Department, afterwards 
Senator in Onn-ress, and late Governor of New Hampshire; and Silas Wright, Senator from 
New York, and one i^l' the most prominent of the Albany regency, and who probably at on(- 
lime expected to have succeeded Martin Van Bun-n to the presidency. Until the explosion of 
the " unit," Major Eaton had been the old General's confidential friend, or rather cronii, who 
ever stood ready to do any service required of him by Gen. Jackson. After the explosion, 
Major Eaton, as well as Mr. Van Buren, were supplied with places abroad; and then it was 
that .\mos Kendall's influence commenced — he being selected, by accident or by design, to till 
the place of Major Eaton iri his confidential charn(;ter. .\mos Kendall's subtle nature soon 
penetrated the character of the noble savage he had to deal with; and, by alternate fawning 
and well-timed flattery, he soon acquired a comi)lctc ascendencj' over the mind of the rough old 
soldier. There is no doubt that Mr. Van Buren controlled this " Kitchen Cabinet" for some 
time after its organization ; but, in his absence. Kendall managed so to ingratiate himself with 
the old man as to become complete master of his actions; and he had the art to turn the views 
and ideas of Gen Jackson into any channel he saw fit. If Kendall wished certain measures 
to be advocated by the President, he would first begin to infuse his own simtiuients into his 
niitul by slow degrees, and, at some future time, adroitly draw the same ideas from the old man 
whicli lie had himself implanted in his breast, and who would honestly consider they had really 
originated there, and were the offspring of his own genius. By such means, favored by the 
absence of Mr. Van Buren. Kendall soon made himself the; most powerful man in the nation. 
GeniTal Jackson's personal popularity enabled him to carry any political measure into effect he 
wished, regardless of the C(msti1ution and the laws; while Amos, possessing the means of 
directing these measures as he chose, was in reality the supreme ruler of the nation ; and 
it was probably fortunate for Mr. Van Buren, that, at the time of his resignation, he had drawn 
a written reply from General Jackson, in which he had assented to his succession to the Presi- 
dency ; otherwise it is probable Mr. Benton would now have been chosen as candidate in his 
stead. Mr. Benton and Francis P. Blair were tbe particular friends or confederates of Amos 
Kendall, and these three soon became tiie most prominent of the Kitchen Cabinet, and theic 



84 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

influences with Gen. Jackson went on increasing, until Hill and Wright were considered by 
them as merely subordinates ; and they were even able to dictate terms to their prime minister, 
Martin Van Buren. 

As before stated, it is probable that Martin Van Buren had soane hope that the United States 
Bank might be yet brought under his control, by making a lenewal of its charter to depend 
entirely on the executive will — and this supposition is rendered almost certain by the character 
of tlie succeeding annual messages of President Jackson. In his first annual message, the Bank 
is simply remindt-d tliat there is such a thing as a xcto power lodged in the hands of the Presi- 
dent, and although he does not commit himself by declaring the existence of the Bank to be 
unconstitutional, he leaves it to be supposed that the renewal of its charter may he vetoed either 
on that ground, or on the ground of expediency. In this first annual message, delivered Dec. 8, 
182d, President Jackson is made to say — 
,'!,' »^.' The charter of the Bank of tlio United States expires in 1836, and its stockholders will most probably apiily for a 
renev.al of their piivilegos. In otder to avoid tlie evils resulting from precipitancy in a measure involving such im- 
portant principles, and such liccp pecuniary interests, I feel that I cannot too soon present it to the deliberate consid- 
eration of the legislature *f the people. Both the conslUutiunalittj and the expi:dtcncy of the law creating ib". Bank are 
well questioned by a large portion of our fellow citizens, and it must be admitted by all that it has failed in tlie great 
end of establishing a uniform and sound currency." 

If we liad not a '• uniform and sound currency " at the time this message was delivered, what 
v/ould President Jackson call the one we have been blessed with for some years past ? 

In his 2d annual message, delivered Dec. 7, 1S30, General Jackson is not only made to reiter- 
ate the same sentiments expressed in his last message, but he is also made to hold out a bait to 
the Bank, in hopes, no doubt, that before applying to Congress for a recharter, the stockholders 
would first apply to the executive, in order to ascertain what \Vas required of the Bank to " obviate 
constitutional and other objections." In this message the President says — 

>' The importance of the principl- involved in the inquiry, vk-hctlier it will be proper to recharter the Bank of the 
United Stiiles, requires tliat I should again call the attention of Congress lo the subject. Nothing has occurred to 
lessen in any degree the dangers wlsich many of our citizens apprehend from that institution, as at prcxeist organized. 
In the spirit of improvement and compromise which distinguishes pur country and its institutions, it becomes us to 
inquire, whether it he not possible to secure the advantages afforded by the present Bank, through the agency of a 
Bank of the United Slates, so modified in its principles and structure, as lo ohoiatc cunslitationul and otktr objections." 

Notwithstanding this tempting overture, the Bank did not bite, being no doubt aware from the 
beginning of the existence of the barbed hook which lay concealed under the specious bait. It 
was, as has been before stated, that tlie explosion of the '■'■unit" cabinet was brought about by 
the intrigues of Martin Van Buren — and Amos Kendall became the confidential adviser of Presi- 
dent Jackson, and Francis P. Blair was selected as editor of the executive organ, the Globe. 
Francis P. Blair was a deadly enemy to the Bank, from a cause heretofore stated. The directors 
of the Banlc had tacitly confessed that they considered 237 dollars in notes and certificates, 
signed by other men, to "be of greater value than his (Francis P. Blair's) obligations for more than 
20,000 dollars, and tliey had proved their sincerity by having cancelled his obligations to that 
amount on the payment of the trifling sum first mentioned. This was an injury not to be for- 
given, and from tliat day to this Francis P. Blair has never ceased to vilify the Bank with all 
the variations of abuse and falsehood, that the most malignant of men could use and invent. 

The writer was informed some years since by a respectable old clergyman, who resided in 
Washington, that he boarded in the same house witli Amos Kendall or Francis P. Blair, or with 
both, in the year 1831 ; and that he frequently saw them together. — He further said, that Blair's 
conversation related almost exclusively to the United States Bank ; — that he frequently said it 
must be fut down, and another Bank put up in its place. Tliis other Bank, he stated, Blair some- 
limes called a " Treasury Bank " — sometimes an " Exchequer Bank " — sometimes a " Gorern- 
ment Bunk" — and sometimes a " Bank of Holland." Some time since the writer observed a 
long and a particular account, in the Globe newspaper, of the " Bank of ..Amsterdam," (the capi- 
tal of Holland,) and it brougiit at once to his mind the old clergyman's story of Blair's ^^ Bank 
of Holland." Mr. Benton's malignant hatred of the Bank is well known to every body, and it 
is probable tiial after Mr. Van Buren became convinced that the directors of that institution could 
not be induced to lend themselves to the furtherance of liis ambitious schemes, he determined 
upon consigning tlie Bank to Kendall, Benton, and Blair, to bo dealt with as they saw fit- — with 
the understanding, however, that Mr. Benton should not be brought forward as a candidate for 
the Presidency, until liis own term sliould have expired. With this understanding, Mr. Van 
Buren loft the United States some time in the monlii of July, 1831, as minister to the Court of 
St. James, being named to that mission by General Jackson, as was his ordinary practice during 
the recess of Congress. At the next session of Congress, in December following, tlie nomination 
was rejected in the Senate, (as befoie stated,) on the ground that Rlartin Van Buren, while 
Secretary of State, had attenii)ted to negotiate, on the West India trade, with the government of 
Great Britain, through Mr. M'Lane,our then minister in England, purely on party principles. 

The stockholders of the Bank were now about petitioning Congress for a renewal of their 
charter. In President Jackson's annual message, delivered Dec. 10, 1831, he says — 

" Entertaining the opinions heretofore expressed in relation to the Bank of the United States as at the. present nrgaii- 
Ued, t felt it my duty in my former messages frankly lo disclose them, in order that the attention of the legislature and 
the people should be seiiRonably directed to that important subject, and that it might be considered and linally disposed 
of in a ninnn<;r b('st calculated to promote the ends of tbc constitution, and subserve the public interests. Having thus 
conscientiously disihirged a constitutional duty, 1 deem it proner on this occasion, without a more particular reference 
to the views of the subject then ex])re8sed, to leave it for the present to the investigation of an enlightened people and 
their representatives." , 



BY A LABORING MAN. 85 

To read the above extract one would be led to sup[)Osc that General Jackson was composed of 
the pure milk of Jmnian kindness, and that he was perfectly satislied that tiie " cnlifrhlrncd people 
and their ruprrscntatizes' should dispose of the Bank as they thought proper. Bat murk the re- 
sult. On the SJtli of January, lti'.'i2, less than one month after the delivery of tiie President's 
message, Mr. Dallas presenti-d to the Senate of tiie United States a uienioriul from the stock- 
holders of the United States Bank, res[n'ctfully petitioning that the charter of that institution 
;Bhou. a be renewed. After mature deliberation, a bill for the rccharter of the Bank passed tite 
Senate on the 11th of June, by a majority of eight voles, and was concurred in by the House of 
Representatives, by a vote of ll)7 to tio, and that, too, after the investiiration of the allUirs of the 
Bank b}- a committee, appointed by Congress for that express purpose. This bill was sent to the 
President on the 4ia of July, who, on tiie lOtli of the same month, relumed it with his Veto, 
notwithstanding his former expressions of obedience to the will of the people and of their repre- 
sentatives. The committee appointed on this occasion was composed of a majority of adminis- 
tration members, among whom was the notorious C. C. Cainbreleng, a subservient tool of Mar- 
tin Van Buren, and of the Kitchen Cabinet. This conimiltee was appointed on the 14tli of 
March, ISovi, and Mr. Clayton made the report of the majority to Congress on the l?Oth of April 
following, while Mr. Adams made a report for the minority on the 14lli of May, 1632. Every 
American citizen wiio wishes to become acquainted with tlie nature of the charges preferred 
against the Bank by General Jackson and his adherents, sliould read these reports. A more in- 
famous mode of investigation, was never perhaps adopted by a court of inquisition in Spain or 
Porlu^;al during the dark agi's — and yet the managers of the Bank came forth from their hands 
unscathed and wholly iree from reproach. The only charge preferred against them, which ad- 
mitted of a particle of suspicion, was the loaning of a sum of money to Webb and Noah, at liiat 
time joint Editors of the iS'ew York Courier and Enquirer — and even the conduct of liieBank on 
this occasion, upon mature deliberation, will perhaps demand praise rather than censure. 

It appears from the evidence contained in the oOicial reports, that James Watson Webb was 
Editor of the Courier and Enquirer, a paper favorable to the administration of Gen. Jackson, 
and also that an article appeared in its columns on the 8th of April, liS31, advocating the re- 
charter of the United Slates Bank, which, from lime to time, was followed by other articles of 
the same character. It also appears that Mr. Webb was indebted at that time to the National 
and certain other Banks in the city of New York, to quite a larffe amount, and that on the Cou- 
rier and Enquirer continuing to advocate the le-charter of the U. S. Bank, Ihi^se Banks not only 
compelled Mr. Webb V:> pay up all his accommodation paper, but refused to discount his business 
paper as before, giving him distinctly to understand the reason to be his friendliness to the U. S. 
Bank. This statement was fully corroborated by the evidence of two of the Presidents of the 
City Banks, (.\lbert Gallatin and Mr. Wright,) who were summoned by the committee for the 
express purpose of disproving Mr. Webb's statements. Finding his resources thus cut off, on 
the ninth of August, 1631, Mr. Webb applied to the U. S. Bank for a loan to the amount of 
2l),0()() dollars, and he was furnished with a letter of recommendation by Walter Bowne, Mayor 
of New York, and formerly a director in the U. S. Bank, and, if the writer mistakes not, a de- 
voted partisan of Andrew Jackson's. Mr. Webb frankly stated the cause of his refusal by the 
New York City Banks to the President of the U. States liank. The security offered was con- 
sidered satisfactory, and the paper was discounted, and which, with oilier discounts, made some 
months after, amounting in all to about .52,000 dollars, has every dollar been paid. How stands 
Francis P. Blair's account with the Bank.-' is that paid.' No I it has been sliown to be settled 
by the payment of a little more than one cent on the dollar — and yet this is the man who has 
fulminated more falsehoods about this transaction of liie Bank, than perhaps any other person in 
the United States, with the exception of Kendall and Benton. If the security offered by Mr. 
Webb was not sutBcient to warrant the Bank in loaning the money, what docs Mr. Blair think 
of his own cme per cent, security .' 

The official record also shows that Mr. Noah was about purchasing into the Courier and En- 
quirer, and that to raise money for that purpose he placed notes in the hands of Silas E. Bur- 
roughs, a wealthy merchant of New York, to the amount of $l,"),000, besides interest — who 
agreed to have them discounted lor the interest and 2.^ per cent, additional commission, for guar- 
antee — transactions of whicli nature are daily and hourly taking place in New York. After 
Mr. Burroughs had held these notes for some time, it seems he himself became in want of funds, 
and bad them discounted at the United States Bank, by giving some additional collat(?ral secu- 
rity ; and it appears by tlie records that neither Mr. Noaii nor Webb had any knowledge of these 
notes being in the possession of the U. S. Batik until after the committee of investigation was 
appointed. With the exception of this sum, Webb and Noah's loan of the Bank amounted to 
but about $35,000. 

To account for the conduct of the National and other Banks in New York, in the business of 
Webb and Noah, it is sufficient perhaps to state, that the U. S. Bank stood mucii in their way, 
from the circumstance that it never received more than G per cent, interest, whereas the State 
Banks of New York were allowed to take 7 on all paper discounted by them. And moreover, 
m the event of the United States Bank 7tot being re-chartered, the deposits of the public money 
would probably be made in tlie State Banks, which subsL'quent events jiroved true, and tliis very 
National Rank complained of by Mr. Webb, was afterwards selected for that purpose. 

An altompt was also made to criminate the President of the Bank through the testimony of 
Reuben .M. Whiliiey, (who appears to have been the Titus Gates of the Kitchen Cabinet,) a man 
well known on the borders of Canada during the late war with England, to which power he had 



86 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

taken a sort of Jialf oath of allegiance, in order to be allowed to remain in Canada, his business 
being, as it is said, of such a nature that it required him to divide his time about equally between 
the U. States and that province. This pious man undertook to make a charge of embezzlement 
against Mr. N. Biddle. The President of the Bank was confronted with Mr. Whitney, and de- 
clared that every word of Whitney's statements was untrue; and it was afterwards proved to 
be so by jive witncssr.s, and also by written evidence. As a last resort, Whitney summoned a 
Mr. Wilson Hunt in his behalf, who, so far from confirming Whitney's statement, manifested 
great surprise that he should expect him to corroborate statements of which he had never before 
heard. Mr. J. Q. Adams, who was of the minority of the committee, was so struck with the 
manner of this witness, (Whitney,) and the character of his statements, that he was induced to 
ask him, " what had been his motive for giving the testimony, and whetlier it had been voluntary 
or solicited," &c. &c. These questions Whitney attempted to evade, by pretending not to rec- 
ollect whether his testimomj had been voluntary, or asked of him ; but upon being hard pressed 
with further questions, he at length acknowledged that he had brought a [cttcr of recommendation 
to Mr. Clayton, the chairman of the committee, from Mr. BENTON — yes, from Mr. BEN- 
TON ! a member of the Kitchen Cabinet — that is the very name given on the official records, and 
that is probably enough to reveal the cloven foot. It was by such means that the Kitchen Cabi- 
net attempted to destroy the Bank, and to prevent its re-charter. The representatives of the 
people were, however, at that time sufficiently free from executive dictation to enable them to 
act agreeably to the dictates of justice; and the good of the country, and the re-charter was 
granted to the Bank, as before stated, quickly followed by the Veto of the President. 

Whatever might have been the object of the conspirators beibre, it was evident that the de- 
struction of the Bank was now fully determined upon — and the Executive, acting under the 
influence of the Kitchen Cabinet, was made to fulminate every species of abuse and falsehood 
concerning that institution. Fearful that the re-charter of the Bank would repass both houses 
of Congress, by a two thirds majority, at their next session, the greatest exertions were now 
made to prevent such an event, and among other means used, it was determined to remove the 
public deposits from the vaults of that institution, under a pretence of its insolvency, and ac- 
cordingly the President, in his 4th annual message, delivered to Congress the 4Ui of Dec. 1832, 
in speaking of the U. S. Bank, is made to say — 

" Sucli measures as are within the roach of tlie Secretary of the Treasury have been taken tn enable him to judge 
whether the public doposit.s in that institution may be regarded as entirely safe ; but as his limited power may prove 
inadequate to this object, I recommend the subject to the attention of Congress, under the,^7'm belief that it is worthy 
of their .serious investigation. An inquiry into the transactions of the institution, embrachig the brandies as well as 
the principal Bank, seems called for by the credit which is given throu;.'hout the country to many serious clrirges im- 
peaching its chaiacter, and which, if true, may justly excite the apprehension that it is no longer u. sufe depository of 
the money of the people." 

Notwithstanding this grave assertion of the President, it is well known that the only com- 
plaints that had ever been made conveying the most distant doubt of the solvency of the Bank 
had emanated from the Executive, the Kitchen Cabinet and their minions. The removal of the 
deposits was decided upon, no doubt, not only with a view of weakening the United States 
Bank, but also with the intention of placing the control of the public money in the hands of the 
Executive, to be used as the Kitchen Cabinet might see fit. 

In 1829, while Martin Van Buren was Governor of New York, a law had been passed com- 
pelling all Banks thereafter chartered in that State, to pay aia annual tax of one half per cent. 
on their capitals, for six years from the time of their charter. The fund arising from this tax 
was to be placed in the hands of the Comptroller, (viz., AZARIAH C. FLAGG, one of the 
regency, and, nf course, under MARTIN VAN BUREN 'S control,) to be held as security for 
any losses that might occur to the public by the '■'safetyfand Banks." Three commissioners 
were also required to be appointed by law, one by the State, (the Jllhany Retrency,) the other two 
by the safety-fund Banks, any one of whom could, by complaint to the Chancellor, (viz., Reu- 
ben H. Walworth, another of the regency,) cause an injunction to be issued against any one 
or all of the confederated Banks. This law, it will at once be seen, added greatly to the power 
the ^^ regency" already possessed over the Banks, as before described. It is probable that on the 
failure of Martin Van Buren's plan of subjugating the United States Bank, it was the intention 
of the conspirators to destroy that institution, and then to establish a great National Bank, to be 
located in the city of New York, and to be organized on principles that would place it as com- 
pletely under the control of the Federal Executive as was the Regency Bank at Albany under 
the control of Martin Van Btiren. But owing to the clamor the conspirators had been com- 
pelled to raise in every part of the Union against all National Banks, in order to break down the 
existing Bank of the U. States, they were obliged to dispense for the time with the project of 
such an institution, and they probably concluded to adopt a system as near that employed by the 
Albany Regency as circumstances would permit. 

At the meeting of Congress in Dec. 1832, that part of the President's message relating to the 
safety of the public deposits and the charge of insolvency against the U. S. Bank was taken 
into consideration by Congress, and after mature deliberation, it was decided that the charges 
were without foundation, and that the removal of the deposits was uncalled for, by a vote of 109 
to 46, being more than two to one against their removal. By the report of an agent employed 
by the Treasury department to investigate the situation of the Bank, it was shown that " the 
liabilities of the Bank amounted to $37,296,050, and the fund to meet them to $7i»,.593,870, 
making an excess of $42,2D6,!120." The charge of insolvency in the face of sucii facts, was 
too glaring even to be persevered in by the desperate characters who had instigated its insertion 



BY A LABORING MAN. 87 

in the message of the Presiflent, and the old charge against the Bank of electioneering was 
again resorted to, and on this ground it was resolved to remove the deposits, regardless of the 
will of Congress, twice so ein[)halically expressed. It was either at this period, or directly after 
the deposits were reinf)ved, that a broker in New York was employed to make tin- run on the 
Savannah Branch alluded to by the writer in a previous number. It was sii|)posed at the time 
that this broker was employed by Amos Kendall, he hopintr to find this distant branch unpre- 
pared to meet a call for a heavy amount of specie, and that by causing it to suspend, a general 
run would be made by bill hohiers on all the branches at once, as well as on tlie mother Bank, 
and thus cause the greater part to suspend, and thereby prove the charge of the Bank's insol- 
vency, made by the President, to be true. It is hard to conceive of such turpitude e.\isting in 
human nature, that, fur the sake of gratifying vindictive malice, or will, or for the acquisition of 
power, a plot should be conceived and acted upon, the success of which would causi; ruin to 
thousands of innocent persons, and produce a universal stagnation of business throughout the 
Union. But from a close observation of the policy and measures that have been pursued, the 
writer is convinced that History bears record of but few men so corrupt and desperate in their 
characters, as ever h;iving existed in any age or country, as are those who have ruled the desti- 
nies of this country sinc<; tlie elevation of Andrew Jackson to the Presidency. With regard to 
the plot to break the Savannah branch, the writer has been informed that the broker emploj'ed 
had collected about 300,000 dollars of the bills of the Savannah branch. Maurice Robinson, of 
the branch Bank in N. York, became aware of the sudden disappearance of the bills from circu- 
lation, and gave Mr. Biddle notice of it. — The Directors, well knowing the unprincipled char- 
acters who were seeking the destruction of the U. States Bank, suspected something wrong, and 
immediately despatched a large amount of specie to the branch in Savannah, which had scarcely 
arrived before the bills were presented and the specie demanded for them. It is said the mis- 
creant who presented them, finding the attempt to break the branch had failed, begged to be 
allowed to take the bills back, which request was, however, denied him. The friends of the 
administration, to hide the baseness of this transaction, stated the specie was wnntcd for the pur- 
pose of establishing a Bank in Georgia. — Tlu; whole circumstance of the case, however, proved 
the falsehood of this pretence. — This same broker is the man that Martin Van Buren rewarded 
with a loan of more than 170.000 dollars, taken from the Custom House in New York some 
months since. Whether Martin Van Buren was himself accommodated with a loan in return, 
to be used in his speculations at Oswego, or elsewhere, the writer does not know, but he was 
informed some time since in New York, that during his (Martin Van Buren's) electioneering 
tour the last summer, he was closeted for the considerable part of a night at the Globe Hotel, in 
that city, but for what purpose the writer is not informed — but he will venture to say that the 
words p'ist services, were thought of, if not used, in the course of their night's conversation. 
Perhaps there are some men in New York who can inform the public whether any of Mr. 
Van liivirens friends or relations were accommodated about this time by a loan of money from 
Beers or not. The writer strongly suspects that this was the case, but does not know it to 
be so. 

On the 4th of March, 1S33, Gen. Jackson was installed for the second term in the Presidential 
chair; and on the Gth of June following, he left Washington in company with Martin V^an 
Buren, then Vice President, and others, on a tour through the Northern and Eastern States. 
Mr. M'Lane, then Secretary of the Treasury, refused to become a tool for the removal of the 
deposits, but owinof to his being a good political friend of Martin Van Buren's, he was merely 
translated to the head of the State department — now rendered vacant by the appointment of 
Mr. Livingston, minister to the court of Versailles. And Mr. Duane who was known to the 
conspirators as a strong opponent of the Bank, was appointed in his place. — It would seem that 
the members of the Kitchen Cabinet took it for granted, that Mr. Duane would be as unscrupu- 
lous as themselves, in the use of the ineans to destroy the Bank. In this, however, they were 
mistaken. Mr. Duane had been in office but a few weeks when he discovered that he had other 
men to serve besides the President. — In a letter or address dated Feb. 20, 1834, Mr. Duane, 
speaking in reference to the removal of the deposits, says — 

" I then comiilcied liim fPrC'^ident Jackson) thi' mere instrument oT men .iround liim, who were unworthv of his 
confi lencc, and believed that lie had l«)conie the executioner of their vengfunce against all who had cliecked tneir ra- 
p.icily." 

Mr. Duane again says — 

" My commission hora the ihite of May 99th, 183.?, and on the 30th, I reached Washington. After waiting upon the 
President, on the no.vt d:iy, I went to the Treasury Ueparlmont, and took the oiitli of offif e on the 1st of June. On thd 
evenin;< ofthit day, Mr. Reuhen M. Whitney called upon me at my lodgings, at the desire, as he said, of th.' President, 
to make known to me what had been done, and what v)a.s to be done, in relation to the United gtateif Bank. He 
stated, thit the President had concludi.'d to take upon himself the responsibility of directing the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury to rfmovc^ the public, deposits from that Bank, and to transfer them to St.ite Banks ; that he had asked the mem- 
bers of the cabinet to give him their opinions on the subject; that the President had aaid — ' Mr. Taney and Mr. 
Barry had come out like men for the removal ;' that Mr. M'Lane had given a long opinion against it ; that Mr. Cass 
was supposed to lie against it, but had given no written opinions; and that Mr. Woodbury* had given an opinion 
which was ' yi;s ' and ' no ; ' that the President would make the act his own, by addressing a paper or order to the 
Secretary of the Treasury ; that Mr. Amu.t ICnulaU, who wa^t h'p/k in the PrexidrnCs confidfitcc, vas nowprfparini^ that 
paper ; that there had been delay, owing to the affair nt Alexandria , hut no doubt the President would soon speak to 
me on the subject ; that the paper referred to, would be put forth as the Proclamation had been, and would be made a 
ralliiinir point ; that he (Mr. Whitney) had, at the desire of the President, drawn a memair or exposition, showing 

* It is due to this gentleman to state, that I subsequently learned ho was opposed to a removal, prior to July, 1834, 
find was for only a gradual change afterwards. 



»S FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN- 

that the measure might be safely adopted, and that the State Banks would be fully adequate to cll the purposes of 
government. He then read the i-xposilion to me, and as 1 desired to understand matters so imjiortant and so sin;,'ulaily 
presented to me, 1 asked him to leave the paper with me, which he accordingly did. He also read to me divers let- 
ters, from individuals connected with State Banks [regency]. The drift of his further observations was to satisfy me 
that the executive arm alone could be relied on to prevent a renewal of the United States Bank Charter." 

*********** 
" On the next evening, (Sunday,) Mr. Whitney again called on me in company with a stranger, whom he introduced as 
Mr. Miiws Kendall, a gentleman in the President' ■■i contidenco, and v'ho would give me any further explanation, tliat I 
might desire, as to wiiat was meditated in relation to the United States Bank, and who then called on me because he 
VJos about to proceed to Baltimore. I did not invite, nor check communication. Very little was said, and perhaps be- 
cause I could not wlioUy conceal my mortification at an attempt, apparently with the sanction of the President, to re- 
duce me to a mere cipher in the administration." 

*********** 

" The President left Washington on the 6th of June. During his absence, further circumstances came to ray 
knowledge, which induced me to believe, that the removal of the deposits was not advocated with any view to public 
utility, but urged to accomplish selfish, if not factions purposes. I sought no intercourse with those who, I felt satisfied, 
had an undue influence over the President, at least in relation to the grave questions connected with the removal of 
the deposits. Whenever any of them called on me, there was no hesitation in urging me to accord in the proposed 
measure. It was contended that the removal of the deposits would be made a rallyitttr point, at the opening of Con- 
gress, or a flag up, for the new members. Whenever I urged a recourse, in the first instance, to Congress^ or the Judi- 
ciary, such a step was scouted, and delay represented as hazardous. 

" I had heard rumors of the existence of an influence at Washington, unknown to the constitution. The conviction 
that suck an influence existed, at least in relation to the matters then pressed upon me, was irresistible. I knew that 
four of the six members of it, before I became a member of it, had been opposed to any present action in relation to 
the deposits ; and I also knew that/our of the siz members of the existing cabinet entertained the same views. I felt 
satisfied, not only that the President was not in the hands of his constitutional advisors, but that their advice was suc- 
cessfully resisted by persons whose views I considered at variance with the public interest and the President's fame." 

All the efforts of Kendall to induce Mr. Duane to remove the deposits proving without avail, 
on the 4th of July, General Jackson suddenly returned to Washington. For some weeks after 
his arrival, every inducement was again used to prevail upon Mr. Duanc to remove the deposits, 
and to place them in the State Banks, as arranged for by Amos Kendall, but without success. 
At length finding that Mr. Duane could not be prevailed upon to remove theiu, without an act 
of Congress being passed requiring such a course, he was accused by the Globe of being an em- 
issary of the Bank, and abruptly dismissed on the 23d of September, by General Jackson, and 
Mr. Taney was appointed in his place for the express purjwsc (as stated by the writer in a previous 
number) of removing the deposits, which were accordingly ordered to be placed in the State 
Banks selected by Aiuos Kendall after the 1st of October, 1833. 

It will be remembered that in General Jackson's last annual message, he was made to doubt 
the solvency of the Bank In his next message, delivered December 3, 1833, he is made to ac- 
cuse the bank of being too solvent and rich. The average amount of government deposits in the 
United States Bank was at that time about ten millions of dollars — consequently, on the removal 
of the deposits, the bank was obliged to call in its circulation to about the same amount — more 
especially as the charge of insolvency from the President and his minions had not been entirely 
without effect in causing runs on the Bank. In this message, after making the most flimsy and 
false charges conceivable against the Bank with regard to the use of their money in influencing 
the elections of the country, Gen. Jackson is made to say — 

" At this time the efforts of the Bank to control public opinion through the distresses of some, and the fear of oth- 
ers, are equally apparent, and if possible more objectionable. By a curtailment of its accommodations, more rapid 
than any emergency requires, and even while it retains specie to an almost unprecedented amount in its vaults, it is 
attempting to produce great embarrassment in one portion of the community, while through presses known to have 
been sustained by its money, it attempts, by unfounded claims, to create a panic in all." 

This was no doubt the language of the Kitchen Cabinet — and to show the nature of the testi- 
mony used to prove the charges of electioneering brought against the Bank, as well as the prac- 
tice of its accusers in the same respect, the writer will refer the reader to the following docu- 
ments brought in evidence against the United States Bank. 

It will be remembered by the reader, that Mr. Ingham, in his first letter to Mr. Biddle, after 
informing him of the nature of the coiuplaint brought against the United States Branch Bank at 
Portsmouth, says further — " Complaints of a, similar nature have also been svggcsted from other 
places — particularly KEJ^TUCKY and LOUISMKA." 

As tlie attack made on the Bank at Portsmouth did not succeed, the complaints were never 
brought forward. It has been shown that the principal agent in concocting the charges against 
the Bank at Portsmouth was ISAAC HILL, one of the members of the Kitchen Cabinet, and 
that Levi Woodbury was the principal tool made use of then, as he ever has been since, by the 
conspirators. In an address dated Green Spring, 5th June, 1832, from Mr. Ingham, former Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, and published in the American Sentinel, he discloses the origin of this 
charge — in alluding to which Mr. Ingham says — 

"This charge is substantially contained in the following letter, which then made its first appearance in writing, 
though often repeated orally some time before. — Mr. Gilly Cuddy, who had offered to prove the facts, and invited a 
request to that effect in the letter referred to by Mr. Kendall, afterwards declined the attemi)t. 

"4th Auditor's Office, 2.1d Novemeeb, 1829. 

" Dear Sir:— In the summer of 1828, I was informed by Mr. ,of Frankfort, that on the Sunday preceding the 

election in 1825, it was determined by two directors of the United States Branch Bank at Louisville, where he then 
resided, to appropriate $250 of a certain contingent fund, or secret service money, belonging to the Bank, of which fund 
they had the control, to aid the party called the old court party, in carrying tho elections in Jefferson county. Mr. 

further stated thav.f 100 of the money was put in the hands of himself and another gentleman on that d;iy, that 

they went to Shippingspor* and opened grog shops with it, and hired hacks to carry up voters ; that the balance was 
put into ths hands of others for like purposes, in Louisville ; that they did employ with that money all the hacks in 
the place, and to use his own expression, ' did a main business on Sundiiy.' 

" Not being authorized to use this information on Mr. 's authority, I requested Mr. Oilly Cuddy to prove it, 

if possible, through other channek, and these ate facts to which he alludes. Very respectfully, 

•' S. D. Ingham, Secretary of Treasury. AMOS liENDALL." 



BY A LABORING MAN. 89 

It appears by this, that two out of the three chargea against the United Slates Bank were 
brought by members of the Kitchen Cabinet ; wliom the other cliargc with regard to Louisiana 
was made by does not appear,, but tiie writer lias but little doubt that it emanated from the same 
source. Who Mr. GUhj Cuddy is the writer knows not, but it is a droll name for a white man. 

With regard to the Mr. , of Frankfort, in Kentucky, the writer knows of no ether person 

from that place except Francis P. Blair — and as Kendall had been a schoolmaster in that 
State, it is probable that he there formed his acquaintance with him, and it was no doubt through 
Kendall's means that Blair was brought to Washington to edit the Globe, in 183L It is said 
that while Kendall resided in Kentucky he was subjected to a severe fit of sickness, and that 
his life was probably saved by the kind and assiduous attention of the wife of Henry Clay — 
this probably accounts for his malignant hatred of Mr. Clay, on the same principle that caused 
Blair to hate the Bank, viz. — on the principle that " smatl favors make friends, and great fa- 
vors make enemies," especially, as before stated, when conferred on malicious and malignant 
men. If Mr. Blair is the witness alluded to in Kendall's letter, it shows that /our of the Kitchen 
Cabinet at least were concerned in making the charges against the Bank. 

It seems that Mr. Gilly Caddy declined "■the attempt" of proving the truth of Kendall's 
charges against the Bank. But had the conspirators succeeded in accomplishing their ends in 
their attack on the Portsmouth branch, by means of "public opinion" manufactured for the oc- 
aisiori by ISAAC HILL, through the "friends of General Jackson in S^ew Hampshire," they 
would doubtless have adopted the same course in regard to the charge made by Kendall against 
the branch in Kentucky, agreeably to tlie rule contained in Mr. Ingham's first letter to Mr. 
Biddle, as before stated, that, in the absence of other proof, " theunhj safe guide to test the justice 
of such complaints, is the puhlic opinion of the vicinity in which they emanated." 

The following Precepts and Letters, published in Niles's Register, August 4, 1832, will show 
the course of deception pursued by tlie Kitchen Cabinet, and hoxo free from meddling in the 
elections of the people, were the officers of General Jackson's jnirc " reform " administration at that 
early period, which has gone on increasing to such an extent that it is now avowed openly in 
Congress by the minions of the Executive, that all officers of Government should e.xert them- 
selves to the utmost AT THE POLLS, in favor of the views of their master, the President. 

Pi-ecept. Practice. 

Eztract from the Inaugural Mddrcss of President Jackson, Circtdar from the Commissioiur ufthe Qcncral Land Office, 

4tfe March, 18-i9. Mr. Hayward. 

"The recant demonstration of public sentiment in- " Sir :—T send you tlie 2d number of the 'Extra Globe.' 
scribes on the list of executive duties, in characters too It is only one dollar tor 30 numbers. As it is of the gbeat- 
legiblo to be overlooked, the tusk of reform ; which will est importance in tlic approaching contest for the presi- 
require, particularly, the corr.-^ction of those abuses that dency, that this pap"r should bo circulated and read in 
have brou<rbt llie patronajo of the federal i^ovcrnment into every nei^'hborhood in Oliio, can you procure five or 
conflict with tiio freedom of election, and the counteraction ten subscribers to it in your vicinity.' If you can and do, 
of those causes which have disturbed the rightful course you may transmit the money tome, and I will see the papers 
of appointment, and have placed, or continued, power in forwarded to such persons and to such post-offices as you 
unf.iithful or incompetent hands." shall direct. The back numbers will be sent." 

lictter First. liCtter Second. 

" March 21, 1829. " Washi ngton, April 23, 1832. 

" The interest of the country demands that the (4th audi- "Dear Sir: — I take the liberty to enclose you certain 
tor's) olfico shall bo filled with men of business, and not proposals, which speak for themselves. The people need 
WITH FABBLiNr. POLITICIANS. PARTISAN FEELINGS shull Only Correct information, and the proposed paper will give 
not enter here, if I can keep them out. To others be- it on the cheapest terms. It is intended to reach EVE- 
loag the whole business of electioneering ; to me and RY neighborhood in the UNION ; and it is peculiarly de- 
my clerks other duties are assigned. Them I shall en- sirable. that it should be circulated through all Ken- 
deavor to discharge in the spirit of reform which has made tuokv. Ilwill render essential service in all your elections. 
General Jacksori~President. 'Vain' f may be, proud I Will you take the trouble, for the sake of our good cause, 
AM, that tlio President has given mo an opportunity to aid to raise a .-iubscription in your quarter, and make a speedy 
liinj in proving that reform is pot an empty sound, and is return of names and mnvey. 
not to apply merely to change of men. llenceforlh, assid- ^^ The time FOll ACTION ?.s flt Aand. 
uously devoted to my official duties, I shall louve my ene- " The president is well and in excellent spirits. I do not 
mies and his to their freedom of speech and the iiross, doubt that the people whom he has so honestly served, will 
resting mv claims to public confidence on my triumphantly sustain him. 
ACTS. Very respectfully, &.C. " With great respect, yours truly, 

"AMOS KENDALL." " A.MOS KENDALL." 

The writer would most earnestly solicit the attention of the reader to the above letters. They 
contain the key to the whole course of policy that has been pursued by the federal government 
since the election of Andrew Jackson to the Presidency. From the beginning to the end, it will 
be found that every State paper and every article published in the official organ, the Globe, has 
been concocted for the express purpose of blindimr the people to the real intentions of the ad- 
ministration. It will be seen that Kendall declares in his letter that " THE TIME FOR AC- 
TION IS AT HAND." Wiiat action ! not the jjresidential election, for that was just termina- 
ted. But he had determined to remove the deposits — and to ])revent their being restored by 
Congress at their next session, it was necessary that tools of the Kitchen Cabinet should be elect- 
ed to Congress in Kentucky and elsewhere, which elections were then pending. Can any one 
doubt, from the nature of the foregoing letter, that this was Kendall's object — and that the re- 
moval of the deposits was then fully determined upon at all events? And yet General Jackson 
is made to insult the understanding of the People and their representatives in Congress, in his 
next annual message in December, 1833, by telling thetn that the deposits were removed from 
causes that had come to his knowledge since the session of Congress, and after the date of this 
letter of Kendall's in which it is .so fully shown the act was then resolved upon. Does not every 
man see that the whole causes assigned in General Jackson's previous messages, with regard to 
the conduct of the Bank, were but as tubs thrown out to amuse the whale, while the harpoon was 
secretly preparing to stab him to the heart .' NARRAGANSETT. 



90 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

[From the Ncwnort, R. I., Herald of the Times, April 30, 1840.J 

No. 12. 

Further Effects of Mr. Van Bt/rcn's "False Si/stem," which has at last subjected 
himself to the Control of a " Power behind the Throne," viz : — the Power of the 
Kitchen Cabinet, noio mostly concentrated into the Hands of Messrs. Kendcdl, 
Benton, and Blair — icith some Remarks on the Speech of Mr. Benton, on the 
Bill for a " Treasury independent of the People." 

In the last number the witter hiis endeavored to trace the progress of tlie conspiracj' against 
the hberties of the people, engendered by Martin Van Buren, from the period Andrew Jackson 
was elected President to the tune of the removal of the deposits. — This comprehended a period 
of about four and one half years, during which time the power of the Executive branch of the 
government had increased to such an extent, by means of the bold usurpation of tlie President, 
aided by the political intrigues of the Kitchen Cabinet, that the legislative branch was pretty 
much reduced to a cipher. It seems, however, tliat tlie conspirators were fearful lest tiie action 
of Congress, as it was then constituted, might yet arrest thein in their traitorous attempt to render 
the iciU of the President supreme ; and as Kendall's letter shows, a regular system v/as organizing 
to bring the whole power of the Federal government to act on the election of members of Con- 
gress, through the officers of government and the public press. This system has since been so 
thoroughly perfected, aided by the public money now entirely at the disposal of the conspirators, 
that both Houses of Congress have been filled with a majority of debased creatures, of their own 
selection, who are entirely under the control of the conspirators, and who are ready to pass and 
perform any act their masters may dictate. Things have arrived to that pass that there is not a 
question of importance now acted upon, by what are called the representatives of the people, 
that does not emanate from the Executive, and is tine same in reality as if no such department 
of government as a Congress existed — and as if the President ruled in his own person, in 
which is concentrated all the arbitrary power of the Czar of Russia, or the Sultan of the Turk- 
ish empire. 

To such a pitch of boldness have the minions of the Executive arrived, that a few days 
eince, a prominent administration journal at Boston informed their readers that it was the belief 
of their correspondent at JVashington, that it was unnecessary the people should elect a Vice 
President tbe ensuing fall, as his appointment miirht safely be left in the liaiids of the Dtmocratic 
Senate — thus leaving the Executive, through his minions in tliat body, to name the Vice Presi- 
dent. If the leaders of the present party in power should not be able to succeed in getting up a 
war, in time to aid them in the ensuing Presidential election, and thereby insure the success of 
Martin Van Buren's re-election, the writer would not be at all surprised if the " poivtr hdiind 
the throne " should so manage as to have a number of candidates either for the Presidency or 
Vice Presidency started, in so artful a manner as to make it ajipear that some of tliein were in 
reality Whig candidates, and thus defeat the election, by the people, for the express purpose of 
throwing the choice of President or Vice President into tlie hands of the Executive minions 
with which they have managed to fill both Houses of Congress. 

As before stated, there are probably nearly one hundred, and fifty papers in various parts of 
the Union that are employed in a greater or less degree by government. These pres.-;es are all 
subject to the dictation of their head organ, the Globe — second to which stands the Albany 
Argus, whose editor was one of the most prominent of the regency, and who was rewarded for 
his zeal in the cause of Martin Van Buren and the Regency, with patronage in printing ibr the 
state of New York to the amount, as it is said, of more than 30,(100 dollars annually. Tliose 
who are in the habit of reading tlie Executive organ, the Globe, and other papers under its con- 
trol, will observe that when any new measure of policy is about being adopted by the conspira- 
tors, they frequently cause the project to be started in tlie columns of some distant subordinate 
paper, which is then copied into the Globe, and /«?;()?•«/(/;/ commented on by the Editor or other 
members of tiie Kitchen Cabinet, who write in its columns. The cue is thus given to the whole 
one hundred and fifty hired presses of the Executive, and they immediately commence advo- 
cating the measure, let it be what it will. The Globe then again comes out with a series of 
extracts from tliese papers, from every part of the Union, to show that -'pvblic opinio?!," is in 
favor of the measure proposed. — And as the Globe is sent to all the postmasters in the country 
who are bound to promote the views of their master Amos Kendall, they of course taive esi)ecial 
care that it has a good circulation with those they tiiink will be easiest duped by its trickery. 
Besides the regular Globe, there are thousands and tens of thousands of extras printed and cir- 
culated through the country, at a mere nominal charge — and in many instances without rinij 
charge whatever — and as most of the readers are not aware of the position of the papers from 
which the extracts alluded to are made, they really think that there is a strong current of "pub- 
lic opinion " in favor of some measure thus proposed — when, in reality, there had not perhaps 
been ii single unbiased voice raised in its favor. This is the spe<;ies of •'public opinion'" which 
Mr. Ingham informed Mr. Biddle was the safest guide, in absence of other proof, to test the 
truth of the charges tirought against the Bank. 

The writer was informed a year or two since by a gentleman, that in passing through the 



BY A LABORING MAN. 91 

interior of Pennsylvania he observed a Globe newspaper at nearly every tavern he stopped at — 
and that he made it a rule to inquire of every landlord in what way he received the paper. In 
a great majority of cases he foimd they were furnished gratuitously, and without being asked 
for. The writer has also been i:iformed, that immense numbers are circulated in New Hamp- 
shire, probably through the agency of Isaac Hill, who himself has edited a paper (the N. II. 
Patriot) in the service of the government, and received a very large sum yearly for printing for 
the e.vecutive departments — besides occasional e.xtra allowances for "blanks, paper and twine," 
as proved before a committee of investigation in Congress. By this means, as Mr. Kendall ob- 
serves, "every neighborhood in the Union is reached." The effect produced on public opinion 
by this mode of action is prodigious, and its importance is underrated by most. 

As the writer has before stated, the two letters of Kendall, published in iN'iles's Regi.ster, con- 
tain a complete key to the course of policy pursued by the present and past administrations. It 
has been sliown that charges were brought against the Bunk of using its money to subsidize the 
press — while tlie fact is, tiiere is not probably one single press in the whole United States, em- 
ployed by Government, whose conductors are not compelled to surrender their own opinion to 
the will of the conspirators, and are obliged to advocate all their acts, right or wrong ; and so 
with regard to nearly every person employed by Government, even to the day laborers about the 
Custom Houses. And yet the corrupt men who have brougiit this state of things on our once 
free and happy country, have the impudence to accuse every person who is opposed to their 
misrule, of being bought by the Bank, or to charge them with acting from motives of j)ccuniary 
intt'rest. They are so corrupt themselves that they can have no conception that any men are 
capable of acting from disinterested motives. The Bawd whose life has been spent in prostitu- 
tion and crime, and who reviles with her filthy tongue every woman more virtuous than her- 
self, is an angel of purity when compared with some of these most profligate men, as both their 
private and public career has proved. 

It is said that during the late charter election in the city of New York, about twenty-two 
hundred foreigners were naturalized or qualified to vote, for the express purpose of supporting 
the Federal e.xecutive party in that city — and it is also said, that the men from the navy yard 
and from tiie U. States vessels in port, were marched to the polls and trained to vote as directed 
by the minions of Martin Van Buren. The writer has not been able to ascertain the truth of 
these reports, but for the honor of the navy, he trusts that so far as it is concerned at least, the 
charge may prove untrue. The officers of the navy and of the army, with a few most disffrace- 
/w/ e.xceptions, have as yet sustained a high tone of character — honorable alike to themselves 
and to tiieir country, notwithstanding the repeated attempts that have been made by the E.xecu- 
tive and his minions to degrade thein to a level with themselves — and although the writer is 
well aware it would be unbecoming their stations to appear as opponents of any e.xisting admin- 
istration, yet it is to be hoped they will steadfastly resist any attempts that may be made to 
induce tliem to prostitute? their honor by becoming subservient or accessory to the intrigues of 
such men as Martin Van Buren or of Messrs. Kendall, Benton, and Blair. 

In the last number the writer believes he conclusively showed, that the deposits were re- 
moved from the United States Bank solely through the influence possessed by Amos Kendall 
over General Jackson. The writer has heard it stated that some time after the battle of New 
Orleans, General Jackson applied to a branch of the U. S. Bank for a loan of 100,000 dollars, 
most if not all of which was to be e.xpended in the public service. — It was said the directors of 
the Bank were disposed to do every thing they could with propriety to accommodate General 
Jackson, and offered to loan him the money upon iiis giving a mere nominal endorser for secu- 
rity ; — this he refused positively to do, and the directors of the Bank did not feel themselves 
authorized to make the loan with only one name as security. It is said that at that time, Gene- 
ral Jackson swore "eternal " enmity to the Bank, although it is well known he had previously 
petitioned for a bran(-h to be established in Tennessee, which was granted, and that he also en- 
deavored to get a branch established in Florida. The writer has also been informed by a gen- 
tleman who was a director in the U. S. Bank, that General Jackson's name, either as principal 
or endorser, had been subjected to a protest by the Bank. Whether the first of the foregoing 
circumstances is true the writer cannot say, but either of them would be sufficient to make a 
lasting enemy of a man of General Jackson's character — he being a man of perhaps the most 
violent atid implacable temper now living, and who was perhaps never known to have forgiven 
an injury, or even a fancied insult. In every station he has filled, he seems never to have con- 
sidi'ied that the constitution or laws of his country were meant to be applied to his conduct, 
much less that the rule of a Bank should. It is certain that Andrew Jackson was at one time 
favorably disposed to the United States Bank, from the circumstances before stated — but at the 
time he was elected to the Presidency his supporters say that he was opposed to the existence of 
a United Stat's Bank. No proof of this, however, has been brought, but it is probable that he 
was more easily induced to lend himself to the furtherance of the schemes of the conspirators 
for the destruction of the Bank, from tlie circumstance of his having a previous prejudice against 
that institution — notwithstanding which, the writer has been informed, by a gentleman who 
obtained his information t"i-om a source to be relied upon, that Amos Kendall declared in pres- 
ence of an officer, formerly in one of the departments at Washington, that it took several weeks 
of persuasion before he (Kendall) could induce the o/rf General, to remove the deposits — and 
that Kendall also stated, that after he had finally brought the old man to declare they should be 
removi'cU he had no fear hut what it would be done, let what might happen. If any readers 
should, however, doubt the ascendency Kendall possessed over the wayward and undisciplined 



92 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

mind of the President at this time, the writer will refer them to the following three letters, pub- 
lished in the New York Standard, in December, 1835. The New York Standard was ai, this 
time the leading Jackson paper in the city of New York, and the object of publishing the letters 
was said to be, to screen Messrs. Beers & Co., to whom the letters were supposed to be ad- 
dressed, (although the names were not given in the Standard,) from the charge then currently 
made ag-ainst them of having been the tools in tiie hands of Kendall, in his attempt to break the 
Bank of the United States by the run on the Savannah branch, as before alluded to by the 
writer. It is, however, difiicult to trace any connection between the subjects of these letters and 
the aifair of the Savannah branch, and instead of disproving the agency of Kendall in the matter, 
they tend to strengthen such a supposition by the admission, that there was a correspondence 
kept up by the parties. What renders this conspiracy to break the Savannah branch almost cer- 
tain is, that at the time the bills were collected in New York, (by the broker Beers,) to make the 
run for specie at Savannah, the Savannah branch notes were received by the branch bank of the 
United States in New York in deposit, precisely as their own notes, and consequently the specie 
could have been readily obtained there, if really v/anted. But it will be perceived by Kendall's 
letters, that the branch in that city was compelled, through his machinations, to keep enough 
specie on hand to meet almost the entire circulation of the Bank, and all its branches, and there 
can be scarce a doubt in the mind of any reflecting person, that the Savannah branch was sin- 
gled out by the conspirators, for the reason that they supposed it to be an unguarded point, as 
exchanges were then much in favor of the North, as was proved, by the great concentration of 
the bills of the Savannah branch in the city of Nev/ York — they being at that time the best me- 
dium of remittance, and being received in deposit by the mother bank in Philadelphia, and, as 
before stated, at the branch in New York. The following are the letters alluded to : — 

" Washington, 28'/s Sept. 1833. 

" Dear Sik : — Your letter of the 26th inst. is at Iiand. — Since my return I have received several letters from you, 
all of which have remained unanswered, as h;;ve all other letters from New York, merely because I resolved to have 
no correspondence with any one there, until the great question should l)e decided. 

" On account of your devotion to the cause I had so much at hotirt, I was anxious that the bank should be em- 
ployed by the Treasury depurtment; hut on considering tliosubjer-t in all its bearings, it was thought proper at present 
to confine the selection to the tliree banks of large capitals already named to the public. The question is yet operi as 
to the bank. With high respect, your obedient servant, AMOS KEA'DALL." 

"Washington, Wth Oct. 1833. 
" Dear Sir: — The Navy department is engaged in making inquiries as to the rate at which it can get specie funds 
placed in the Mediterranean ports for the use of our squadron there, and it has occurred to me to ask you the followuig 
question. 

" At what premium, paid in the United States, will j'ou undertake to deliver on shipboard, in the port of Marseilles, 
$50,000 every three raontlis in Spanish pillared dollars, with the privilege of sending out in the public vessels from the 
United States, w ithout charge, wherever such vessels may go, tlie diipartment to furnish the money to you on good 
security, three months in advance ' With high respect, your obedient servant, 

" AMOS KENDALL." 

The above letters show conclusively, that Amos Kendall considered himself all in all, in the 
management of the nation's affairs, and was negotiating on account of two departments (Treasury 
and Navy) at once. The writer has, in previous numbers, described the nature of " a unit " 
cabinet — controlled by one head, tlie President. This head, Amos Kendall had by his magio 
arts turned into an automaton, and could cause it to nod assent, or frown disapprobation, on any 
measure he chose — consequently the "jmh^ " was under his (Kendall's) entire control. Mr. 
Kendall's third letter is very lengthy, and goes to show that he considered himself the supreme 
dictator as regards tlie management of the deposit State Banks, and also that he acknowledges 
the receipt of two letters from his correspondent in New York, commencing thus — 

" Wanhinntun, 18(.'j Oct. 1833. 
" Dear Sir : ^- 1 have your favors of 16lh and 14th, and am much under obligations to you for your suggestions." 
The balance of the letter is made up with Jesuitical remarks with regard to the United States 
" monster " — and among other things, Mr. Kendall says — 

" I5r.-iJ(js, in youv city, the whole amount of rcvonuo receivable for three months to come, will be available to the 
State Banks, receiving it for the accommodation of the people, inasmuch as no treasury warrant will be drawn upon 
them so long as the treasury lias any money in the United States Bank. I understand the three lianks have extended 
their discounts two millions of dollars, and the other banks in your city probably two more. This is enough, in all 
conscience, and 1 think a little too much for the time. It is not desirable they should go further ; for a greater line of 
discount cannot at jircsent be sustained. It is this which still makes the branch a creditor bank, and the more their 
discounts are extended, the greater will this evil be. But if the State Banks go no further, there will soon bo a change 
in the relative position of the Bank. The receipts of the distant branch paper by the Bank, as well as her otni, vmst, 
if your banks are prudently managed, throw the balances on the oth<r side. These balances will be collected in coin, 
anil in that, way it will be transferred. You mention that the Merchants' Bank drew §60,000 from the branch ; this will 
bo followed by other drafls, until the United Stales Bank will fitid it difficult to sustain the brunch in your city. As 
things now are, that institution must keep means there tn meet almost all its entire circulation , and it will have to become a 
great collector of specie from every huariek of the Union, for the ultimate 1,'be of your bunk, and others who may 
want it at M'cw York." 

As the writer has before stated, John C. Calhoim said some time since that it was not safe or 
best that the people of the United States should be made acquainted witli the corruption of their 
government. — Do not these letters prove his remark to be true ? Let any disinterested person 
read this letter, and then turn to Andrew Jackson's si.vth annual message, delivered Dee. 2, 1833, 
and read the compound of falsehood, of malice, and of knavery therein contained, with regard to 
the conducl, of the United States Bank — and if his soul has not become case-h;ifdened in vice, 
it will sicken at the contemplation of such a stupendous scheme of villany. While this Ken- 
dall — this born imp, this limb of Satan himself — is, on the one hand, puttiitg forth, in the name 



BY A LABORING MAN. 93 

of tlie Chief Ma^strato of fifteen millions of people, the most groundless and base charges of 
corruption atrainst the Bank — accusing it of curtailing its discounts for the express purpose of 
affecting theelections, and of forcing a rocharter from Congress — he, on the otiior hand, in his 
letter, secretly ckuddvs at the idea, that his hidden contrivances will compel the Bank to adopt 
the very course the President is made to charge it with liaving taken. — And yet what was the 
fact.' "it was simply this — that notwithstanding these most infamous proceedings of its ene- 
mies, the efficient and liigh-minded managers of the United States Bank succeeded in sustaining 
that institution, hy calling in even a less amount of its circulation than was drawn from its vaults 
by tiie illegal removal of the i)ublic deposits, and so far from having persecuted the State institu- 
tions, as it was basely cliarged with having done in the President's message, it is notorious that 
it actually aided tiiein, by every mean.3 in its power, to bear up against the jiressure produced by 
the hiffh-handed and despotic measures of the Executive — which shook the confidence of the 
public alike in every banking institution — and caused a system of hoarding of specie to com- 
mence, which was airiiin encouraged by this same Kendall, through the columns of the vile or- 
gan of himself and c^illeagues, the Globe newspaper. !n December, ^^'.V.\, a short time after the 
President had been made in his message to bring the charge of unreasonable curtailment against 
the Bank — and al\er the measures had been adopted by the conspirators, which would in tlieir 
opinion render a course of rigid contraction necessary for the salvation of the Bank, the follow- 
ing, among other articles of the same nature, appeared in the columns of that prostituted and in- 
famous journal, the Globe. 

" VVc iKivo hithiTto 1i;mI notliinj to do with riin.^ upon Mr. BiiMlt-'s Bank in tho Fast or West. But wc toll him 
plainly, if lie persists in liis dctorniination tu bring omb irrassment on Iho coiinlry, nnd ruin on bis debtors, by exorbi- 
tant curt;iilpient.-f beyond what is nenessaiy to pay up tlie pulilic deposits, wi: will, by every means wo can lawfully 
use or su^ijijt, ninko bis Bunk feel tlie elfects of bis reckless course. In more wa^s than one can the people of this 
country nialS thoir power manifest; and the trepidation displayc^d in the bank-hive, when the people, in a jiortion of 
Kentucky, by ii apunlancoti.i movement, bpj,'ari last year to cash its paper, has taught us bow to make war with etTcct, 
whenever the conilnet of the IJank shall make it necessary or expedient." 

It seems then by the above article from the Globe, that the conspirators had learned, by the 
" expf.rimrnt " thej' had tried through their friends in Kentucky, " liow to make war irith effect " 
on the United States Bank, which they intended to prosecute so soon as tliey found it " necessary 
or crpedlrnt." Tiie " s/iontiinews movement" spoken of was probably produced through the 
agency of the " friends of Gen. Jackson in Kentucky," not J\'eir Htnn])shiie, as on a former occa- 
sion. Just about the time that this article appeared in the Globe, the Secretary of the Treasury 
furnislied the deposit Banks at certain points, particularly at New York, with illegal drafts to the 
amount of some millions on the United States Bank, merely for the purpose of transferring the 
deposits, (not drafts drawn agreeable to law, to meet the regular paymcMit of government,) to bo 
used in case the United States branch Banks should refuse to receive the notes of distant 
branches in deposit, or for the liqciidation of balances from the new State deposit banks, now gen- 
erally called pet banks. Of these drafts, the Manhattan Bank, the Bank of America, and the 
Mechanics' Bank, of New York, each held one for $."J00,000, making $1,500,000 in all for the 
City of New York. 

Now the writer would ask all readers (who are not already acquainted with the facts relating to 
the attack on the United States Bank) to compare the letters of Kendall, written in October, 
with the article in the Globe and the transfer drafts of the Secretary of the Treasury, put forth 
aboaifortij duys after Kendall's last letter, and see whether it is yossihlc to come to any other 
conclusion than that they were all parts of the same scheme, bearing the impress of one master 
and originator .' Kendall, in his letter of the 1-th of October, expresses great tenderness for the 
Bank, and fears of its explosion, and says — " .S'Ab (///« Rank) icUl hare her hands full to save her- 
self." Then look back and read what he says about the elFects of" t!ie receipts of distant branch 
paper by the Bank " — showing that it was fully believed by the conspirators, that in case the 
Bank continued to receive the bills of all its branches in New York, it would find it " diflScult to 
sustain " itself Now, turn bark and read the article from the Globe which threatens to make 
war on the Bank — by attacks on its distant brunches by means of Isaac Hill's species oi^ ^^ public 
opinion" manufactured for the occasion, out of the "friends if Gen. Jackson," and then, to cap 
the climax, look at tlie transfer drafts placed in the hands of the creatures of the conspirators at 
the head of the deposit banks in New York and other cities, to be presented to the United States 
Bank, and the speci(> demanded for them the iiHiiiient that institution or its branches manifested 
any signs of weaknes.-*, by refusing to receive the bills of distant branrhrs in deposit or in paj'- 
meiit of balances from the Pet Banks. For fear of the " inar with eff'irt," these same distant 
branches were rcmdered un;ible to nfford any assist-ince ti the branch in New York, as they were 
compelled to keep a large amount of specie on band, to iiifct the " war " threatened by the conspir- 
ators through the Globe, as in case of the Savannnli branch It seems by tlie failure of their at- 
tem|)( to iirf^ak the braneh at Savannah, tha' the c Mnp ratirs had become more cautious, and did 
not intend to make another attempt until they were sure of siieeess But such was the confi- 
dence of the community' in the solvency .•uid integrity of the I'nited States Bank, that all the 
treacherous plans of the conspirators f tiled, and thev were forced at last to acknowledge that in- 
stead of being broken and insolvent, the B ink was loo sirnnir. 

To show how sure Kendall must have been in the ultiinite success of his plans for breaking 
the Btink, the writer will refer the reader t'^ Mie foil i win n- cxtr.acts. pnbli'jhed in the Now York 
Star, taken from a letter, addressed by AMOS KENDALL to the editor of the New York 
Standard, under date of Oct. !•, 1^3!'. 

"When you consider that the public moneys in the l?;'.rtk vt-dto abatit $(9,868,003; Ihat llioiir sudden withdrawal 



94 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

woulJ carrywith it probably 3,000,000 out of tbe private deposits, now amounting to about $8,000,000 ; that the Brnk 
lias now to pay two or three millions of the three per cents deferred in Europe ; and that upon so extensive a curtail- 
ment of business, many inilliuns of its nineteen millions in circulation must soon return ujion it ; you wili perceive that 
sudden withdrawal of the public moneys would at once destroy it. Yes, Sir, this hoastinir giant is now but a rcplile 
bene.iitk the feet of the Secretary of the Treasury, which he can crush at will. It exists by his forbearance, and will, for the 
next forty days ; and great forbearance will it require tu save it from destruction." 

" Cut do not suppose the Bank will be permitted to pursue a hostile course towards the State institutions, and there- 
by produce that pressure which it is the policy of the administration to prevent. Manifestations of such a course on the 
part of the Bank, will undoubtedly be met by a commensurate transfer of the public money, which sluill maUe the Bank the 
first to feel the consequences of its own policy." 

" Thus ha? this haughty institution been brought to its knees at the first step of the State Banks. But the result of 
a necessity forced upon it by the foresight and energy of the new Secretary of the Treasury, is now, with characteristic 
impudence, set down to the account of its own liberality and forbearance.''^ 

The panic caused by the despotic removal of the public deposits, and by the subsequent con- 
duct of tlie conspirators, is well known to most business men, as is also tjie manly and high- 
minded course pursued by the managers of the Bank on that trying occasion. They probably 
saw it was the intention of their enemies to attach public odium to tlie institution, by compelling 
it to become an unwilling instrument in the hands of the conspirators to oppress and harass the 
peo[)le, and it would appear that its managers exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent such a 
result. If the Bank had been in the hands of inefficient and inexperienced men, while contend- 
ing for its existence with the set of vile characters who attempted to destroy it, it is probable that 
the whole business community would have been prostrated in tlie struggle — and all the local 
banks would have been compelled to have suspended — such also would have been the result had 
the managers of the Bank been actuated by the same vindictive and malignant feelings as were 
their opponents. To prove the falsehood of the accusations of the conspirators, with regard to 
the unnecessary curtailment of the Bank, it is enough to state, that from the 1st of October, the 
day of the removal of the deposits, until the 1st of April following, the loans of the Bank were 
reduced only $5,057,527, wiiile the public deposits had been lessened $5,935,568. 

If the conspirators could have succeeded in breaking the Bank, or either of its branches, before 
the meeting of Congress, the cause of the removal of the deposits would no doubt have been as- 
cribed to its insolvency, as suggested by General Jackson's inessage in ]83'2. As, however, 
such an event could not be accomplished, a contrary course was pursued, and the Bank, as be- 
fore stated, was accused of being too strong in the subsequent presidential message in 1833, and 
the cause assigned for the removal of the deposits, was based on the ground that the Bank used 
its funds for electioneering purposes. 

After Congress had risen, on the 4th of March, 1832, the President had obtained a report from 
a set of men who were called '■^ iruvcrnvient directors " of the Bank of the United States, but who 
in fact were government spies, and whose appointments were dependent on the Federal f]xocu- 
tive. These men reported to General Jackson and the Kitclien Cabinet, that the Bank had 
placed its whole cajjital at the disposal of its president, to be (in the language of the message) 
" employed in sustaining the political power of the Bank." Now it appears that the whole foun- 
dation for this charge, was simply to be found in the fact, that about 14,000 dollars per year had 
been recently expended, by order of the directors of the Bank, in ci)-cu!ating documents calcu- 
lated to counteract the aspersions of the enemies of the Bank, and to convey printed information 
to the people at large, with regard to its management. It would be a hard case indeed, if indi- 
viduals in a corporate capacity should not have the privilege of defending themselves from mali- 
cious slanders — but that they must quietly bear everv species of abuse and wrong, under the 
penalty of iiaving it supposed that every attempt to defend themselves through tiie public prints 
should be viewed by the public as being done for electioneering purposes. 

At the next meeting of Congress, so exasperated were the conspirators at the repeated defeats 
they had met with in their several attacks on the United States Bank, that Mr. Benton, on the 
Gth of January, 1834, moved in the Senate of the United States, " that Nicholas Biddle be sum- 
moned to appear at the bar of the Senate, then and tliere to be examined on oath, toucliing the 
causes of the late curtailment of debts due to the Bank of the United States, and the manner of 
conducting said establishment ; also to be then and there examined, on oath, touching the appli- 
cation of the moneys of the Bank to electioneering and political objects." Inst(>ad, however, of 
the Senate passing this resolution, tiiat body resolved on the 2.-'lh of March, 1834, " That the 
President, in the late executive ])rocceding in relation to the public revenue, has assumed upon 
himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and law, but in the derogation of 
both." This is tiie resolution which Mr. Benton, the ^^ great expunger," ])ledgcd himself to have 
erased. By the efforts and intrigues of himself and coadjutors of the Kitchen Cabinet, and by 
tlie help oi '■• public opinion" manufactured by their own methods hitherto described in several 
of the foregoing numbers, and also aided by the new doctrine of the right of instruction, which 
was now brought forward and vehemently urged about this time by the conspirators, Mr. 
Benton at last succeeded in getting a vote of the Senate, to have a black line drawn around the 
record on the journals of the Senate, and inserting the word " expunged" iicross the original 
entry. 

The writer has some where read of an incendiary in ancient times who burned soiue famous 
temple, (perhaps the temple of Diana at Ephesus,) and who, when on trial for the crime, was asked 
his reason for committing the act. His reply was, tliat he did it in order to immortalize his name 
— whereupon a decree was passed that it should honceforlii be considered a capital crime for any 
citizen to mention his nauie, and to be punishable with deatii. It is probable tliat the name of 
this incendiary has been brought down to posterity more on account of the penalty attached ta 



BY A LABORING MAN. 95 

the mentioning of it in ancient times, than on account of the heinous act he committed — and if 
the writer is not much mistaken, the names of General Jackson and Thomas JI. Benton will 
both live longer in the annals of liistory on account of the black lines that are drawn around 
this record, than from any ether cause. 

The writer hnds that neillier the limits he has marked out for this closing number, nor the 
time he can spare from business, will permit his entering into the details of the prosrress of the 
conspirators from the removal of the deposits to this time — and he trusts his readers will pass 
over any imperfections in tliis and in previous numbers, more particularly tiio later ones. He 
feels confident tiiat they will pardon any slight mistakes or imperfections, when he assures them, 
that the time lie has been able to devote to their compilation has not admilltd, in some instances, 
even of a second reading, after having been hastily written, while his mind lias been abstracted 
from the subject by ardu,ous daily attention to business, which could not well be dispensed with, 
yiiould any fanner, mechanic, laboring man, or any otiicr individual be disj)osod to doubt tiie 
truth of the facts that iiave been stated by the writer in any of the previous coininunications, he 
requests they will withhold coming to a conclusion, with regard to their reality, until they have 
had an opportunity to examine the public and other documents referred to for themschfs — with- 
out the intervention of any othce-holder, expectant, or other interested person. The writer is 
not conscious of having inserted any thing, as a fact, that he does not himself believe to be true 
— and as improbable as many statements may appear, he believes mucli stranger things might be 
said of the men who now control the destinies of tliis country, and still not depart from truth. 
"Truth is strange, stran<rcr than fiction." In the winters of IHIJO, 18:51, and 1832, the writer 
passed a few weeks in Washington, and then thought that he distinctly comprehended the posi- 
tion of the President, and the nature of those who controlled his movements. From as far back 
as the year 18'M, a short time after the removal of the deposits, it is well known to many of the 
friends of the writer, both at home and abroad, that he has never ceased to warn tliem of a con- 
spiracy existing at Washington, of gigantic magnitude, and planned by no ordinary minds — the 
object of which was to dest"roy, not only the United Slates Bank, but all other banking institu- 
tions in the country that they could not render subservient to their views. He has ever stated, 
from about the time the deposits were removed, that it was intended by the conspirators to con- 
trol the elections of the country, by means of the deposit banks — each of which was to be made 
to assume the same position as the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank had done in the hands of the 
regency — and tliat lliese deposit banks were to be controlled in their operations, and rendered 
more effectual by the means of an immense deposit of public money — the same as the Albany 
Regency was strengthened by the possession of the safety fund. 

The writer fully believes, and has often expressed for years past his belief to be, that Levi 
Woodbury was selected and placed at the head of the Treasury Department, for the express 
reason that it was necessary to the successful prosecution of the views of the conspirators, that a 
man should be placed in that station whose mind was of so dull a cast, that it would both render 
it impossible that he should penetrate the secret motives of those whose tool he was designed to 
be, while his universally acknowledged ignorance and liability to blunders would cause the 
public to ascribe to those causes any injurious measures that the conspirators might find it 
necessary to adopt with regard to the public moneys or measures originating from the Treasury 
department.* Witness, for instance, the division of the surplus revenues, as described in the 2d 
number of tliese communications — the ruinous method of the division of which, was generally 
ascribed to the characteristic blunders of Woodbury, while in reality it was cunningly planned 
bv his masters for the express purpose of destroyincr the Bank. 

'The writer has also ever believed, and it is well known to many that he has ever declared, 
since the spring of lS34, that the conspirators, headed by Kendall, iiad resolved to destroy, if 
possible, the whole existing mercantile community, for the reason that the thousands of that 
class who were sent on committees to Wasiiington to petition for a restoration of the deposits, 
almost to a man, on their return, were in the habit of expressing themselves in the most con- 
temptuous terms of the Kitchen Cabinet. This so exasperated the conspirators, that they finally 
managed to have the committees refused admittance to the presence of the old Gentral. "The 
Persians liave a proverb, that " the dart of contempt icill. pierce through the shell of a tortoise — 
and any [R^rson who is acquainted wilii human nature, might readily perceive by the malignant 
and bilier remarks in Blairs executive organ, the Globe, of that day, that a deep and deadly re- 
venge was secretly meditated by the Kitchen Cabinet against the wiiole trading community. — 
Actmg under this'belief, the writer has steadfastly refu.sed, from that time, to give a business 
note — although doing a considerable business for the amount of his capital, and has ever de- 
clared to his friends, as is well known to them, that most business men who did not adopt the 
same course, would be ruined by the machinations of the conspirators. In the management of 
his business, he has unif irmly kept a single eye on tiie columns of the Globe newspaper, and 
has always been able to detect the secret movements of the conspirators, in time to guard against 
any of the fluctuations in trade or the currency which tlieir contrivances have caused, and in 
time to contract his business to meet the crisis. In forming his opinion as to the probable inten- 
tions of the conspirators, he has never taken what they have slated to be true, but has endeav- 
ored to penetrate their secret motives, by the tenor of the articles promulgated for the purpose 
of deceiving the public. With regard to financial affairs, they have ever accused the banks of 

* " In my fitlmr's kii'licn was a fit s'-iiUion; 

I think lie kept Iilt for licr simplicity." Sterne. 



96' FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN. 

producing the difficulties which their own secret machinations have caused — and the public i:as 
been informed, through their prostituted presses, that even the business community iiave wil- 
fully promoted panics to beggar themselves and families, for no other reason than to injure the 
party in power. 

Most readers are probably acquainted with the mode practised in New England of shooting 
partridges — by directing the attention of the bird to a red dog, the color of which resembles that 
of a fox. The unsuspecting bird sits perched on a tree, and keeps its attention rivetted on the 
dog, while the sportsman loads his gun at liis leisure and wounds the partridge to death, which 
probably dies in the belief that the fatal wound was caused by what it believed to be a fox, when 
in reality the red dog ims no fox at all. So with the people of the United States — tlieir alten^ 
tion has been rivetted on the banks, and at each successive wound, inflicted by the secret acts of 
the conspirators, they have been taught to believe that it was the banks that hurt them. 

A very common method of deception practised by the conspirators is, to foretell future events, 
which they inform the people will be caused by tlie bank party, or the Whigs, when they them- 
selves secretl}' commence the operations to cause the fulfilment of their own predictions. Of 
this nature was the prediction of the insolvency of the United States Bank, and the subsequent 
attempts to break that institution, as before described. Of this nature was the prediction of 
Thomas H. Benton with regard to the failure of the deposit banks, — on the division among the 
States of the surplus revenue, — which the conspirators succeeded in causing to suspend, and 
thereby fulfilled their own prediction, and many others of the same nature. 

In adopting the plan of depositing the public moneys in the State institutions, the conspirators 
were careful to inform the people, that it was an " experiment" onhi — intending, no doubt, to 
shift their plan if it did not prove to be an efficient means of controlling the elections. It was 
probably Thomas H. Benton's design, even at that early day, finally to get rid of the deposit 
banks, and to establish one great government bank, similar to the one now before Congress, 
called the " Sub-Treasury " — the provisions of which, as the writer has before described, will 
bring every banking institution in the country to the feet of the conspirators, and thus give the 
future Executive entire control of the money power of the country. A part and parcel of this 
same scheme, and following in regular progression, is the plan of a standing army — the embryo 
of which was announced in the late report "of the Secretary of War. 

The scheme proposed would place 100,000 hired cutthroats in the hands of the conspirators. 
As it is not probable that many native American citizens would be willing to submit to the priva- 
tions of a camp in time of peace, and consequently that they would furnish substitutes to fill 
their places, these substitutes would probably be obtained from among the convicts, transported 
to the United States from the German states before alluded to, and other desperate characters 
from every nation in Europe, who, (unlike the standing armies of other nations,) bearing no kin- 
dred, and having no sympathies in common with the American people, would delight in shedding 
the blood of our best citizens, when called upon to do so by the virtuous paymaster and com- 
mander-in-chief, some future President. 

The writer fully believes, and has, as is known to hundreds, decidedly expressed his con- 
viction for some years past, that by a regular agreement among the conspirators, Thomas H. 
Benton was to be the successor of Martin Van Buren to the Presidency, and that our present 
chief magistrate had surrendered himself entirely into the hands of the conspirators, as a com- 
pensation for two terms of the Presidency — which Amos Kendall and the others could probably 
have defeated by prejudicing the old General against him. The pledge given was, that he 
should '■'■walk in the footsteps of his predecessor " — and, as Messrs. Kendall, Benton, and Blair 
marked out where those footsteps should be, in the one case, it follows of course, that it would 
be no more than reasonable they should do so in the other case. In what way Martin Van 
Buren is bound to insure the fulfilment of such an agreement, the writer knows not — but he 
has no doubt it is of a very effiictive nature, as the conspirators would not be likely to trust one 
of their own perfidious number, on a point where so much was at stake, without a powerful 
guarantee. 

The control of the conspirators over the banks was somewhat weakened b}'^ an act of Congress- 
which distributed the public deposits in a greater number of banks than those originally selected 
by Kendall — and finally, by the act of distribution, the control they possessed over tliose institu- 
tions, was like to be almost entirely done away with. Whereupon, as before stated in a previous 
number, they resolved to cause their " experiment " to explode, and to adopt the plans of Thomas 
11. Benton, who had ever been rather the most ultra of the concern — he being the real head of 
the Loco Foro party — the elements of which had been in a disorganized state until tlie evening 
of October 'M , 18!?.'), when the party took to itself a name worthy of their principles. It seems 
that tlie friends of Martin Van Buren had met at Tammany Hall on that evening, and being 
apprized that a rabble, claiming to be a part of tlie administration party, intended to interrupt 
tlioir proceedings, they proceeded to business earlier than usual, and after having passed certain 
resolutions, were about to adjourn — but hefiire the chairman of the meeting could go through 
the ncccssnry forms, a ])arty of loafers anil ragnbonds rushed to the chair, and expelled the oc- 
cupant. The lights were put out in the fracas — but were quickly replaced by means of Loco 
Foco matches, with which the leaders of the mob, in anticipation of such a result, had provided 
themselves, and a new chairman was appointed, and a set of resolutions passed by the rioters. 
The party originating in this manner, has since been universally called the '' Liieo Foro" party 
from that circuinstaiice. At first, the princijiles the Loco Focos professed were ridiculed and 
scouted by all, but as Benton's star became ascendant in the Kitchen Cabinet, the whole army 



BY A LABORING MAN. 97 

of office-holders, and dependents, were gradually instructed to advocate their principles, which, 
as is well known, have finally resulted in sinking the wliole Jackson party to the standard of 
" Loco Focos " — with the exception of a small number called conservatives. 

The writer will now proceed to make some slight comments on some parts of a speech which 
the head of this party, Thomas H. Benton, delivered in the Senate of the United States on the 
16th of January, 1840. It was made at a time when, from the cause of the recent second explo- 
sion of the banks, the conspirators evidently felt secure of carrying into effect all their plans; 
and so much elated was Mr. Benton with the prospect, that he appears to have lost, for a time, 
his usual prudence — and to have confessed being guilty of the very acts and designs, he, in 
common with the other members of the Kitchen Cabinet, had been accused of In tins speech, 
as published in the Globe, Mr. Benton says — 

" Mr. President, it is now twenty years that I have meditated, a?id ten- years that I have been actin?, on tho subject 
matter of this bill. I came into this body at a time, and in a state of the country, calculated to make those think, and 
seriously think, who were elevated to the high function of National legislation. I was elected to this body in the year 
1823, when the hollow and delusive paper system was undergoing one of its habitual and disastrous convulsions, and 
when my progress to this place — my journey from tlie Mississippi to the Potomac — was one long ride amidst the 
crashings and Explosions of banks, and the cries and Mm.mtations of a deceived and plundered people* The National 
Bank w'as then in the third year of its age ; a"'i, so far from atibrding a remedy for the evils, it was itself the mother 
of the evils and notoriously bankrupt, except for the credit and revenues of the United States, which were lent and 
extended to save it. I saw with my c" eyes that a national Bank was no remedy for the evils of the banking system 

tl„jt it was itself the greatest and most potential author of all tliese evils. I saw a vast ruin overspreading the land, 

and I had my opinion of its cause, and of its rem='dy ; but I was a new Senator, and a young man — niwtis homo, as 
the Romans would sav of o""^ who had appeared for the first time in the public atfairs — and [ was here long before I 
could act on this subie"') "r on any one of general or national importance. Tlie election of General Jackson was the 
signal iriin for the commencement of operations. Wltktkal great man, in front to lead me on — with his great power 
behind to back "•■' '" the contest — I commenced at once the syHem of measures which I had so long meditated and carefally 
planned. ^' was, indeed, a system, and a large one, and of many parts, but all TENDING to one object and to one end. I 
commenced with a map of the whole work before me —with a financial chart spread out — on which was placed 
every OBJECT to be ATTEMPTED, and every consequence to be deduced. Finance and commerce were placed 
together, according to their n itural and indissoluble (connection ; and each vv.as considered in relation to the other. 
The extinction of the national debt; the termination of the national Bank ; the revival of the gold currency ; the 
increase of the silver currency ; the suppression of small bank paper ; the re-establishment of the Constitution for the 
Federal Government ; the total divorce of the Fed'^ral Government from the paper system ; no surplus revenue ; and 
the principle of reciprocity in foreign commerce ; these were the objects laid down upon my map; and which, to- 
gether, constituted the system at which I was to labor. 

" I proceeded upon a plan, consisting of many parts, but coherent in all its parts. All that I did in relation to finan- 
cial, commercial, and currency questions, was snbordinale to this plan, and tending to the result which I had proposed to 
myself. I was always moving upon my plan, howsoever detached and even insignificant the motion might seem to 
be ; for [ am not a man to act by fits and starts, spirting crude or vagabond ideas, without regard to utility, and with- 
out consulting the auspices of propriety and success. 

" Here, indeed, was a great work carved out — a large work to bo performed — a great deal to be pulled down and 
cleared away, before any new erections could be commenced. The Bank of the United States was the centre and the 
citadel of the existing order of things. It loas to be got rid of before any tiling else could be attempted. Jt was the corner- 
stone and the pillar of the paper system ; and besides its general capacity to sustain that system, it was in possession 
of the two precise faculties which were incompatible with the existence of an independent treasury. It enjoyed the 
chartered privileges of paying the public dues in its own notes, and of keeping the public moneys in its own vaults. 
Now, the independent treasury system required the federal dues to be paid in the constitutional currency, and the 
federal moneys to be kept by the federal officers. It is evident, then, that the Bank privileges must be got rid of 
before we could begin to build up an independent treasury. All this I saw from the beginning, and therefore 

LABORED TO GET RID OF ONE BEFORE I BEGAN WITH THE OTHER. 

" All these objects Were begun ; some have been pursued to success ; some are on the point of being accomplished; 
and some even yet but INCEPTIVELV presented to the pul)lic mind." 

Here is a precious confession indeed. Mr. Benton's plan, then, it seems, from the beginning, 
was to establish an " Independent treasury " — and all the parade about the efficiency of the 
"experiment" — the Pet Bank system — made in the messages of the "great man in front to lead 
me on, with his great poioer behind to back vie (Mr. Benton) in the contest" — was mere humbugs 
put forth to deceive the people — and was all " subordinate " to the plan of the establishment of 
the " independent treasury.'" 

It is curious to observe how the tone of the annual messages have kept pace with the opera- 
tions of the conspirators, from the commencement of Andrew Jackson's reign. It has been be- 
fore shown how slightly the subject of the United States Bank was touched upon in the first 
message, in 182!), which gradually became yearly more violent, as the conspirators became ex- 
asperated at the resistance of the Bank, either to become their tool, or to break when they wished 
it to; so with the next step of the establishment of a Sub-Treasury Bank, and the introduction of 
a specie currency. 

In General Jackson's sixth annual message, of Dec. 2, 1834, he is made to say to the people — 
" The State Banks are fiund fully adequate to the performance of all services which were 
required by the Bank of the United States, quite as promptly and with the same cheapness." 
This was probably Kendall's insertion, followed immediately after by a " gentle attempt " of Mr. 
Benton, '■'■ for preparing the public mind" for the introduction of a specie currency, and a Sub- 
Treasury Bank, by the insertion in the same presidential message of the following sentence — 
" The progress of our gold coinage is creditable to the officers of the Mint, and promises, in a 
short period, to furnish the country with a sound and portable currency, which will much dimin- 
ish the inconvenience to travellers of the want of a general paper currency, should the State 
Banks be incapable of furnishing it." This was a '•^gentle attempt." 

In General Jackson's next (7th) annual message, delivered the 2d of Dec. 1835, he is made to 
go a step further in advocating a specie currency, and to propose the exclusion of all bank notes 

* Mr. Benton is rather poetical here, as the writer believes that not one single bank failed in the Western States in tlio 
year 1820, after Mr. Beaton's election, as they bad all failed a year or two before, with two or three exceptions. 



98 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 

under twenty dollars. And in his eighth annual message, delivered on the Gth of Dec. 1836 
about seven months after the passage of the act of Congress for depositing the surplus revenue' 
with the States, the old General is made to come out distinctly in favor of Benton^s views and 
to say — " It is apparent from the whole context of the Constitution, as well as the history of the 
times which gave birth to it, that it was the purpose of the Convention to establish a currency 
consisting of the PRECIOUS METALS." ^ 

General Jackson is also made to avow a different motive, for his veto of the charter of the 
United States Bank, in this message, than he ever avowed before -^ and it will be perceived that 
it accords exactly with Mr. Benton's views with regard to his long-meditated plans of getting 
rid of tliat institution. In speaking of the tendency bank paper has to banish specie, Gen. Jack" 
son says — " It was in view ot't/iMe crils, together with the dangerous power wielded by the Bank 
of the United States, and its repugnance to our constitution, that 1 was induced to exert the 
power conferred on me by tiie American people to prevent the continuance of that institution." 

This was going pretty strong for Mr. Benton's plans; but in General Jackson's final farewell 
address to the people, " that great man " is made to come out in favor of a specie currency — both 
"i/i front to lead me on, (Mr. Benton) with his great j.ower behind to hack me (Mr. Benton) in the 
contest ; " and several pages are appropriated to the advocacy of a " specie currcncii " and Gen 
Jackson is made to say, " Best experience has now proved tiie mischiefs and danger's of a paper 
currency, and it rests with you to determine whether tlie proper rc/rnedii shall be applied." 

It seems that, whether tlie people were disposed to apply this remedy or not Mr. Benton was ' 
and tliat, in January, 1834, he introduced the following Resolution into iW? Senate ' 

" Rcsoli:ed, Tliat it is the tnie intent and meaning of llie Constitution of tlie United Pt.ites, Oint the Federal cur- 
rency of the United States shrill consist only of gold and silver coin ; and that there is notliing in tin present state and 
condition of the country, to justify any sup|)osed plea of necessity for departing from the plain intent or t|,e Constitu- 
tion, hy usiiing, or yeriuitting anij corporation, to issue, any ."ptcies of Federal paper currency irliatercr.^' 

Mr. Benton, in speaking of this Resolution, with some others in his speech, prefaces it with 
the following remarks — 

" My financi.il map presented a large work ; and it required time, and patience, and much lahor, to conquer success. 
To prepare tlia public mind for such changes — for so much pulling dnvn, as well as building up — was the first step 
in the Herculean undertaking ; and, to do this, many i-pceches were to be digested and delivered ; and speeches of a 
diff rent kind from tliose which the rhetoriciins teach us to pronounce. We live in an age of intelligence and activity, 
and when the public mind is powerfully directed to objects of utility. In speaking to such a people, I concluded that, 
of the six parts of the reguhir oration, four parts might be thrown away ; that I could dispense with all e.\cept the 
facts, and the application of the facts, cemented and enforced by reason. Upon this plan I spoke. Jly speeches were 
stripped of ornament, stinted of phrases, and crowded with material. They were brimful of facts and reasons ; and this 
w;is a conipliiuent to the intelligence of the ago in which [ lived. Tlie compliment was not misapplied : the intelligence 
of the age was not overrated. The event has proved that it was not. At the end of some years, the public debt was 
paid — the National Bank was laid in the tomb — the gold currcni^y was revived — the silver currency was vastly aug- 
jnentod — a return to the constitutional currency for the Federal Government became a measure of the Democracy — 
^he separation of the Government from the jiaper system became equally their measure : and political parties, return- 
ing to the debate and controversy of original principles, exhibited thenisejves on the respective grounds of Federalism 
and IJeiiiocracy, which Uiry stood upon in the early days of Hamilton and Jef&rson. 

'• Besides preparing the public mind for great changes, the means and machinery of the changes were also to be 
prepared ; and this led to an almost infinite number of propositions offered at different times, in detached iiarts, by 
iitjialincnts as it were; but all tending to the same end, and to the same ultimate object of re- rstablishing Ihi' h^rd 
money Government of the Constitution. It would be tedious, and in fact impossible, to detail all these propositions at 
this time ; but a few of them, selected from the mass, and in different years, will show the steadiness of ijio pursuit, 
and the carliness of my action on the subject. I have already shown that, as far back as the 2d of February, 1831, in 
my first speech against tlie Bank of the United States, I raised the hard money standard for the Federal Government, 
and denounced its totnl separation from the piper system. PoMowin;; up the plan therein indicated, I brought forward, 
in tlie winter of 18y;j-;i4, n.'iraoly, on the ;2d day of January, I8:W, specific propositions to correct the gold standard — 
to legalize the circulation of foreign silver — and to repulse from the Federal Treasury all bank paper of less denomi- 
n ilio[i th:ui twenty dollars. In a speerh against the Bank of tiie United States which I then delivered, I gave the 
noti'-e for these resolutions, and pledged myself to bring Ihem in, and follow Ihem up to a decided issue." 

Here, then, we have it acknowledged, that it was Mr. Benton's plan, from the beginning, to 
gradually prepare the "public mind" for the destruction of the banking system, and the intro- 
duction of a metallic currency. Mr. Benton has before said, as shown, that the United States 
Bank was to be got rid of before his plan could be introduced. How fortunate it was for him 
that ju^t about tiie time he v/ished to "get rid " of that institution, it should all at once conclude 
to further his plans, by behaving so badly that President Jackson, " the great man," should feel 
it a " grave duty " to destroy it. Hear what Mr. Benton further says — 

"It xvas in the month of January, 1831, (hat these resulutions were read in the Senate; in the month of March 
f<illovving, they were offered ; and liave since been followed up by tiie measures which were necessary to give them 
effect, and to lead to the accomplishment af tlie great object on which we are now engaged. The mini was branched, 
btilh to .increase the ooinagd and to seroe at New Orleans oud I'liiladelphia as depositories of the pti,blic money ; the gold 
standard was corrected ; foreign silver was admittod iu a legalized circulation ; small notes under twenty dollars were 
cut off from the reci'ipts and e.'cpenditures of the Federal Treasury ; the Treasarij Order \\\is issued, and remained in 
force two years. All thosi* measures, with ten years of discussion — the increase of our specie from twenty to ninety 
millions — two exptostmis of tiie pa|)«r system in throe years — the inability of the Bank of the United States any longer 
to sustain tho Opposition, and to deceive and <listres3 the country ; all these events have prepared the public mind for 
the ailiipiion of the Independent 'I'reasury system, and m:idc it, iis I believe it to be, the most popular political nieasr 
uro of the times in which we live." 

Now, let the rirader remember that all this was doing, before any difficulties with regard to the 
deposit banks had occurred, and when General Jacksiniwas made to pronounce the most flatter- 
ing eulogiiuus on their sulliciency as fiscal a'reuts to the government, and praiseworthy conduct 
— as has been shown by the writer in j)re.viuuj coiuiuuiiications by extracts from his last mes- 
sage. Let the reader ponder on this — and then follow Mr. BenLen in his remarks. 

" rf any one asks when it was that J began to labor f.i ''i. e^l 'li! riient of Ihft Independent Treasury, I answer, 
that I began this 1 iliolr on the day in \*hich I begr.it'nw la'iHi*%if*f' ^''tii/Kv the crisienee of the Bank of the United 
States. That Bank vyas in the possession — in the r.'in inn ■! po^ ■ sio i — of the tuio prtcise privileges which would 



BY A LABORING MAN. 99 

constitute the new system — the privilege of paying the puhlic dues in her own notes, and the privilege of keeping the 
public moneys. JVuic it is evident there could be no Independent Treasurij, until these Bank privileges were abolished ; 
and to abolish them, the Bank itself must be brought to a close. So long as there was a National Bank, that bank, 
would have the keeping of the public moneys in its own vaults, and the payment of the public dues in its own paper. 
It was NECESSARY, therefore, to oet rid of that Institution, before we could begiiv to erect the Independent Tkeasuky. 
DcmoVdioa was to precede erection ; and for seoen long years 1 labored at the preliminary work. Those who defe.vdsd 
THE Hank duking that time, fought seven years against the Independent Treasury system. Those who 
ATTACKED THE Bank FOUGHT FOR THE SYSTEM. They Were antagonist systems, and one must be got rid of before 
the otiier could be adopted. True, the transit was not direct from one to "the other. There was a halfway house be- 
tween them, as indispensable to be stopped at, and tarricdin a while, ingoina from a JVatioiial Bank, as in returning to one. 
This halfway house, as every one understands, was tlie State Bank Deposit System. fVe stopped in it I'HREiZ 
YE.4RS — from 1834 to 1837 — when it blew up, and we escaped. Congress aided to blow it up by-£lie State Deposit 
act of 1837, which called for thirty-six millions of dollars, which we knew this holfway establishment had lent out, and 
could not return, in the prescribed time, witlwut ruin to itself or its debtors, it blew up, and we left it j and the demo- 
cratic party then took the decisive ground of going the whole distance, aud erocting the Independent Treasury ; basing 
it upon the two pillars of KEEPING its own money, and using nothing but hardmoaey. This system h^d been pre- 
sented before, but at periods of time not propitious to its adoption- A member of the House of Representatives from 
Virginia (Gen. Gordon) presented it in that body in 1834 It was opposed by the Democratic party, and if I had been 
iu that body, I should have opposed it with them ; tV" although right in itself, it was wrong-timed, and would have 
caused a reaction in favor of the Bank of the U">'ed States. In that light it was seen by both political parties, and 
each acted accordingly. The puMic mind vas not^ ripe for tlie step ; the halfway house was still the lodging place ; 
and it would not do to pass it or quit it. '^atil its INSUFFICIENCY was ascertained. Two years after, and before 
this halfway establisliment had fail<;'I) i made two experiments in the Senate to see if we could gradually get out of 
it. Both these experiments i'nV^^ — signally failed — and left mo without hope until that catastrophe should arrive, — 
WHICH I FORESAW, a^J STATED TO BE AT HAND. The first of these attempts was made on the Gth.day 
of January, 1836, and t<'j« the form of a proposed instruction to raise a select committee on banks and currency in tho 
District of ColumN-' i lind, among other things, to inquire 

" ' Into the c^jcessity, if any, for banks of circulation in the District of Colund)ia, in contradistinction to banks of 
discount anJ deposit ; also to inquire how far hanks of any kind are wanted for the uses of tho Federal Government iu 
tins District ; and wherefore the Treasurer of tlie United States may not act as KEEPER and P.\YER of the public 
moneys within the District of Columbia, and drawer of checks or drafts in favor of those who chose to receive their 
money elsewhere.' " 

This was a gentle attempt at the experiment of an Indpendent Treasury here, at the seat of 
Government, where we have a Treasurer and a Treasury building, and oiiicers enough to keep 
and pay out our money. It was a gentle attempt to sound the Senate upon the subject ; but it 
did not get as far as to sound them. As it was read, its fate was determined ; and when it was 
finished being read, it was laid upontlie table upon the motion of an Opposition Senator, without 
debate, without yeas and nays, and witliout a division. 

The next attempt was six months later, to wit, on the 13th of June, of the same year ; and took 
the shape of an amendment to the famous Deposit act ; so as to allow public moneys to be trans- 
ferred from the deposit banks to the mints, for tlte twofold purpose of supplying metal for coin- 
ing, and for safe keeping. On this occasion the Senate was sounded : its sense in relation to 
the commencement of the Independent Treasury system was ascertained ; and as the circum- 
stance is an era in the history of that system, 1 will read wliat our journals present in relation to 
it. I read from page 430, of the session 1835-36 : 

" On motion by Mr. Benton to amend the reported amendments by inserting, at the end of the twelfth section, the 
following proviso : — Provided, That it may he lawful for the Prcsid'ent of the United Slates to direct transfers of pub- 
lic money to be made from time to time to the Mint and branch mints of the United States, either for supplying metal 
for coining or for safe keeping." 

How flattering to the intelligence of the people are the foregoing remarks of Mr. Benton ! 
Mr. Benton confesses that he would have done icrong in 1834, because the people — yes, ihe dear, 
darling people — were not in a fit state to appreciate wliat was right. You mean to flatter us, Mr. 
Benton. What guarantee have we that Mr. Benton means to do rigiit now? A '^gentle at- 
teirpf " was also made on the Senate. One vi'ould suppose by the language used by Mr. Benton, 
tiiat the Senate was some sleeping monster which he was fearful of alarming. This attempt 
failed ; and the next ^-attempt " took another '^ shape," and was made about six months after. 
The Senate was " sounded " a second time — to ascertain whether they were prepared to adopt 
a system of keeping the public revenues, which, if adopted, would render it necessary that the 
State deposit banks should be ^^ got rid of," the same as the United States Bank had been, by 
Mr. Benton's own showing. How fortunate, again, for Mr. Benton, that just in tlie very nick of 
time these same deposit banks should behave so naughty as to destroy themselves 1 

Remember, that all these plans were perfected betbre a whisper had been breathed about the 
insufficiency of the deposit banks. 

In speaking of the failure of the passage of these resolutions, Mr. Benton proceeds in his speech 
to say — " Thus ended the second attempt to begin the great work of eslablishingan independent 
treasury for the federal government; it ended discouraginglv enough, but I was not discouraged, 
and looked ahead tor the forthcoming of an JiRGUMENT which would convince the nation." 

After reading the foregoing remarks, need any reader seek further for the secret cause for the 
issue of the specie circular, immediately after the rising of Congress, by the " great man " who 
went " before and behind " Mr. Benton .' — And need any one inquire why this circular was 
kept in force, although the next Congress passed an act to annul it by almost a unanimous vote 
in both houses, there being but five in favor of its continuance, in the Senate ^ 

The writer has before described, in a previous communication, the final means adopted by the 
conspirators to break the deposit banks — in speaking of which Mr. Benton says — 

" The catastrophe of 1837 was preparing ; and I saw it as distinctly hefure it happened as afterwards, fn tlie win- 
ter of 183(3-7, I pointed out this catastrophe to the then President eh ct, — tlie now Pie.-^ident of the United States. I 
invited him into the Finance Committee room of the Senate, in the winter of 1836-37, four months before the banks ex- 
ploded, and made known to him my opinion of the coming danger. I spoke to him in liishigh character of Presidentelect, 
and to warn him of the tempest which was to salute his nascent Administration. I do not mention this, if it was not 



100 



FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN: 




to be deposited with the tetates in nine months - from the first of January to the tirst of October — in adltion to /«r- 
nishing nearly as much more for the erpmsc of the Ouvcrnment — tliat this act must compel the large deposit banks 
to choose beticeci meshing their debtors and closing their doors. These were the facts I went upon : and while the 
three p-st were sufficient for the event, the fourtli insured it. Of this I was so certain at the time of the passins of 
the act, that, denouncing Jt as a conscience, I also demanded if it was an object of that act ? 

***** * * ** 4* 

" The catastrophe came ; the bank explosion of 1837 came ; the month of May, 1837, saw it arrive, and, at one stride, 
the Democratic party stepped up to the^;acewj.cre I had been standing ^'solitary and alone'' fox seven long years. 
The catastrophe came; the President, in a noble message, which approved him the worthy successor of Jackfon, and 
the worthy choice of the American people ; this calm, sagacious, firm, patriotic President, hung out the banner for the 
divorce ol Bank and Sta e - for a return to the Constitution, =.nd the act of '89, in the establishment of an Independ- 
ent Treasury for the exclusive keeping ot the People's money, wVich money was to bo the exclusive gold and silver 
currency ot our wise and venerated Constitution. The President did hi., part ; the people backed him ; but their Repre^ 
sentatn-es Julered; and a second erplosion of the paper system had to ada it.«,f to the argument, before the minds of the 
doubting could be convinced, and the spirits of the wavering confirmed. The seco^i sii^-pelsion came, and the argummt 
was conclusive.'' ' ° 

It seems, then, that Mr. Benton had some doubts of Mr. Van Buren — Until he proved himself a 
" tcort/iy successor of Jackson," (the great man who went before and behind Mr. Benton,) by his 
treading in his footsteps with regard to a specie currency. But the writer can infirm Mr. Ben- 
ton that he was not the only one who foretold the suspension of the banks in 1837. The writer 
as well as many otliers, also foretold it some months before it took place. The writer's opinion' 
as well as Mr. Benton's, was not " guess-work," but a "conclusion of reason and judgment' 
formed from a view of facts," but they were not altogether the same facts as those stated by Mr! 
Benton. Mr. Benton informs us he knew the banks must fail, because — "fact " the \st — the 
" United States Bank was rotten and wicked, and would fall, and draw down the rest with her." 
Now this "fact" wsls not a fact. The reaZ fact was. that the banks in Mississippi first failed, 
then those of New York ; and the United States Bank, " so rotten and loicked," instead oi " draw- 
ing down " other banks, was among the last that was drawn down by these other banks. So it is 
clear this was not the "fact," that caused the banks to fail, agreeably to Mr. Benton's prediction. 
Mr. Benton's 2d "fact," which v/as to cause the failure of the banks, was — " That the whole pa- 
per system was distended to the bursting point." That is a. fact — so it was — and the writer has 
no doubt Mr. Benton knew it, and knew likewise of the Secretary of the Treasury, and of Reu- 
ben M. Wliitney, and other agents of the Kitchen Cabinet, having used every means to instigate 
the banks to extend " to the bursting point." Mr. Benton's 3d "fact," for the cause of the failure 
of the banks, it seems, was — " TJiat the smaller class of our deposit banks were ready for bank- 
ruptcy, many of them having from twenty to thirty, and even forty dollars of liabilities for one 
dollar in specie." This, also, was a fact ; and the writer can refresh Mr. Benton's memory with an- 
other /ac<, which he has not, it seems, thought worth while to state, viz. — That in February, 
1835, Mr. Binney, a Whig member in Congress, moved that each deposit bank should be required 
to keep in its vaults specie to the amount oC one ffth part of its notes in circulation, and of its 
public and private deposits. A bill to this effect passed the lower house of Congress by a vote of 
109 in favor, to 99 against it; all who voted in favor of the bill, with the exception of sir, being 
Whigs. Mr. Benton, being a member of the Kitchen Cabinet, may perhaps be able to inform us 
why it was, that on the next day his friend Mr. Plummer, of Mississippi, moved for a reconsidera- 
tion of this vote, and after a call of the house, the act was annulled by a vote of 119 to 109, the 
whole of the majority except four being administration men, and of course under the control of 
the Kitchen Cabinet. Tiie Whigs have ever been accused, by Mr. Benton, of being in favor of 
bank expansions. If this bill had been allowed to become a law, it is probable the deposit banks 
would not have had "forty dollars of liabilities for one dollar in specie." But in that case it would 
have been more difficult to have driven them to a suspension — that is a fact. Mr. Benton's 4th 
and last " fact" lias been treated of in a previous number — in which the writer endeavored to 
show, tha; the "/acf " of the deposit banks having about forty millions of public money in their 
vaults, wliile their specie did not amount to about one third of that sum, placed the banks en- 
tirely at the mercy of the Kitchen Cabinet, who used their power purposely to destroy them, 
as before de.scribed. This was done in order, no doubt, to furnish "an JiRGUMENT which 
would convince the nation " that Mr. Benton's specie currency and a sub-treasury bank was 
the best. 

Those who are not familiar with banking principles, do not readily comprehend how the opera- 
tions of one bank necessarily atfect the affairs of other banKs. The eight hundred banks in the 
United States may be compared to so many lakes or ponds of different sizes, all lying on the 
same level, and all connected with each other by intermediate canals. If water is drawn out of 
any one of these lakes, the surface of the whole is lowered in equal proportion — so with the 
chain of banks — the same cause that affects one affects the whole. 

Kariy one bank is compelled to call in a considerable part of its circulation, it is done by call- 
ing in its debts ; these are paid in various bank bills, which are presented for payment to the 
banks which issued tli(>m ; and those banks, in turn, are compelled to call upon their debtors, in 
order to maintain their equilibrium. 

Suppose an individual has deposited in abank 40,000 dollars, and that bank has but 15,000 dollars 



BY A LABORING MAN. 101 

in specie, which we will suppose is its fair proportion in relation to what is possessed by the other 
banks in the United States — and of course the amount of specie cannot be readily increased ; 
does not any one see that the individual depositor, if he is disposed to be mischievous, can eat 
his breakfast of a morning, and in a few minutes walk to the bank, and cause it to suspend, by de- 
manding his 40,000 dollars in specie. This was the precise situation of the deposit banks. They 
had been instructed by their pretended friends, the Kitchen Cabinet, through their tool the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, and other agents, to extend their discounts to what Mr. Benton calls the 
" burstiv-g point." This expansion, as before stated, caused speculators of every description — 
the merchant imported immense quantities of goods, the duties on which swelled the revenues 
of the country, as did also the unprecedented sales of the public lands, until the government de- 
posits amounted to about 40,000,000 dollars, distributed among 8'3 deposit banks, while the aggre- 
gate of their specie did not exceed 15,000,000 dollars, whioJi so far from the banks' being able to 
increase, what they had was constantly being drawn from their vaults by the operations of the 
specie circular, and a heavy drain to pay the balaiice now due in Europe, as before shown. Does 
not every one see that these banks were as rnuch in the power of the Kitchen Cabinet, through 
their automaton, the Secretary of the Tieasury, as the bank before described was in the power 

of the individual .' This, no dou!»t, was all seen by Mr. Benton, and the certain suspension of 

the banks was as '^demonstrah'c to him, as a proposition in Euclid." The destruction of the 
banks was certain and all «''e conspirators had to do was, to destroy them in so artful a manner, 
that the people at large .^iiould not understand how it was effected — and in this the conspirators 
succeeded by the c»eans before described in the second number of these communications. 

The writer "'ill now state some of his own predictions and observations, with regard to this 
suspension of the banks, so clearly predicted by Mr. Benton to the ^^ President elect," Martin Van 
Burcii, who, content with the Presidency as his share of the " spoils," had surrendered the banks, 
" regency," and all, into the hands of his quondam friends, but now masters — Messrs. Kendall, 
Benton, and Blair. 

It will be remembered by most readers, that shortly before Congress rose, in the spring of 
1837, as before stated, an act was passed by almost a unanimous vote, abrogating the " specie cir- 
cular," which had been issued by General Jackson, during the recess of Congress the preceding 
summer. This act of Congress the "old hero " was instructed to evade, by keeping it in his 
" pocket " until after the rising of Congress on the 4th of March, 1837 — at which time the 
" President elect " assumed the Presidential chair. It was at that time the almost universal 
opinion of the members of Congress, of all parties, that the first act of Martin Van Buren, as 
President, would be the annulling of this " specie order." The writer ever held, and repeatedly 
expressed, a contrary opinion, from the beginning, and ever declared, in the most emphatic man- 
ner, that it was not in Martin Van Buren's power to remove the specie circular, or to vary from 
the course marked out for him to pursue by the Kitchen Cabinet — in other words, he had 
pledged himself to " icalk in the footsteps of his predecessor." This predecessor, be it remem- 
bered, was the " great man " who went " before " and " behind " Mr. Benton, in the furtherance 
of his plans — and Martin Van Buren had declared that it was " glory enough for him to servo 
under such a chief" as was the ^'^ great man " who went " before " and '• behind " Mr. Benton. 
Mr. Benton, and the other members of the Kitchen Cabinet, however, had some fears that the 
unexampled distresses of the country would be too trying even for the bloodless nerves of Mar- 
tin Van Buren. Mr. Benton remained at Washington for some six weeks after the risino- of 
Congress, and until a few days before the suspension of the banks. The writer observed this at 
the time, and always said that the object of Mr. Benton's remaining in Washington at that time 
was, to assist in the scheme of breaking the banks, and to watch Mr. Van Buren. A constant 
correspondence was also kept up between General Jackson and the members of the Kitchen 
Cabinet, some extracts from which were inserted in the Globe of that day — and the columns 
of that paper were full of malignant breathings of vengeance against Martin Van Buren. pro- 
vided he should dare swerve from the "footsteps of his predecessor," alias Kitchen Cabinet, now 
consisting of Messrs. Kendall, Benton, and Blair. 

Immediately after Martin Van Buren took the Presidential chair, the writer observed that a 
small paper in Philadelphia, (the name of which is not recollected,) which had supported him as 
the candidate for the Presidency, nominated Thomas H. Benton for the next term. Now what 
could this mean ? — As trifling as this paper was, its editor must have had some object in adoptino- 
so singular a course. " Straws show which way the wind blows." The writer at the time 
thought, and frequently slated, that he understood its object. It was a "-gentle " hint to Martin 
Van Buren that in case he annulled the specie order, Thomas H. Benton's flag would immedi- 
ately be raised for the next term of the Presidency — and the whole popularity of the " Old Hero " 
(with whom the Kitchen was then in close correspondence) would be brought out in favor of 
Benton ; and Martin Van Buren would be suffered to enjoy the spoils but four years instead of 
eiglit, as previously stipulated. To prove the correctness of the writer's views, this same Phil- 
adelphia paper, some weeks after the suspension of the banks occurred, dropped the nomination 
of Thomas H.Benton as candidate for the next Presidency — and in an editorial article confessed 
the nomination was made for the express purpose of keeping Martin Van Buren from s^mrvin<r 
from the policy pursued by his predecessor, Andrew Jackson, alias Kitchen Cabinet. Afte'r 
these facts, can any one doubt Mr. Benton's agency in fulfilling his own predictions.' 

Thet writer could, ir^llowA space and time, clearly show Mr. Benton's agency in bringing 
about ipreh.ature resumption ff the banks, which his "financial chart " would inform him must 
result in another,suspensii0n, which last suspension, as Mr. Benton says, rendered his " ARGU- 




102 FACTS FOR THE LABORING MAN. 

MENT," in favor of a Sub-Treasury Bank and a specie currency, conclusive. The writer also 
regrets not having time to enter into the " inceptive " parts of Mr. Benton's plans — one of which 
he considers to be a standing army — the ^^ inceptive" of which is just broached to the puWic, 
in the shape of a '■^ identic attempt.'' Another part probably is, tliat in case the public lands shall 
not be sufficient to insure him the next Presidency, a bankrupt law is to be passed, to include 
in its provisions all corporations ; and every bank will be brought to servo the Executive by 
means of the Sub-Treasury — or they will be driven to suspension, and their assets will be put 
into the hands of commissioners under the E.xecutive control ; and finally, that, if necessary, 
the whole debts due to the banks, by the debtor portion of the community, amounting to some 
five or six hundred millions, will be offered to the people as a bribe to secure their votes; while 
the "soap locks," " butt-endcr.^, ' and other ^'indomi tables,"' will be brought in to the aid of Mr. 
Benton at the polls, in the shape of arn.pd mobs — and the writer should not be at all surprised 
if they were already organizing to meet the exigency of the coming Presidential election. 
" Poiccr, like sin, encroaclics by degrees." 

A^ain, to prevent any Farmer, Mechanic, or laboring man, who honestly seeks the truth, from 

ns, from a 
?ver asked 
branches, 

(with the exception of his offering 200 dollars in specie for 200 dollai^ of United States Bank 
paper, at Cincinnati, as before stated, and which accommodation he was lofused ;) and that ho 
should be opposed to the creation of a new National Bank, unless its branches »/pre subjected to 
equal taxation with state banks, and unless the public were more effectually guara&ri aoainst its 
powers than they were in the charter for the last. Not that the writer would appreliind any 
danger from those powers being used by the stockholders of the institution, to the injury of the 
people, if left to themselves, their own interest ever being a sufficient guarantee, and which 
would always require that they should manage the bank in such a manner as would most con- 
duce to the prosperity and well-being of all. But the power of such a Bank should be more 
effectually guarded against, to prevent its being used to control the people in case a national 
bank should ever become subjected to a body of secret conspirators, such as the Albany regen- 
cy, or the Kitchen Cabinet. The writer will further say, that he does not own one dollar in any 
bank, or corporation of any description whatever — as he has stated it to have been his belief for 
years past, that all corporations would yet be destroyed by the machinations of Messrs. Kendall, 
Benton, and Blair, and their associates. The writer owes nothing to any Bank, excepting as 
endorser and guarantee, and that to but a small amount. He will further say, that he never 
held an office, never sought one, never expects one, and would not receive the highest that 
could be conferred by any power on earth. For more than twenty years his life has been 
arduously devoted to a business that has given him access to every description of people, from 
the highest to the lowest, more particularly the farmers and the laboring class generally, with 
wiiose modes of living, customs, and habits, he is perfectly familiar — and his only ambition is, 
to be allowed to pass the remainder of his life in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. The 
writer will further remark, that he has never before appeared as a political writer; and that he 
has 710W been induced to appear before the public from the sole desire of doing what little he can 
to open the eyes of a deceived and much abused people, to the snares that have been prepared 
for them by what he considers as corrupt and profligate a set of men as Plistory has ever given 
an account of. 

If every friend of liberty throughout the Union, from the north to the south, and from the 
east to the west, will now surrender all sectional differences and prejudices, and unite as one 
man — they have one more (and the last) opportunity to free the United States from the iron 
rule of the unprincipled Cabal who have wound themselves as a serpent around the Constitution 
and best interests of our country, and are now preying on its vitals: but if they should foolish- 
ly prefer wrangling about their own petty sectional differences, to magnanimously offering them 
up on the altar of patriotism to insure the salvation of the whole, and thereby allow the office- 
holders and other minions of the Executive to procure the re-election of Martin Van Burcn — it 
is the unwavering belief of tiie writer that, in such an event, Thomas H. Benton will succeed 
him to the Presidency — and that he (Thomas H. Benton) will be the last President the people 
of these United States will ever elect. And, although the writer does not pretend to possess 
the spirit of prophecy, he will venture to predict — merely from the natural connection between 
cause and effect, and the testa of experience — that in case Martin Van Buren is re-elected to 
the Presidency, the fate of this republic will be sealed forever, and that ten more years will not 
pass away, before the sun of our Liberty and Union will go down in darkness, if it is not quenched 
m blood. 

NARRAGANSETT. 







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